Virgin Rush
by Apocalyptical Angel
Summary: Dom and Letty would love each other, hate each other, fight with and die for each other. But it would always be each other. Even from a 16 year old teen with extreme mood swings and a dying need to shove her virginity into his hands; It was all about him.
1. Chapter 1

**Virgin Rush**

 **Summary:** Dom and Letty would love each other, hate each other, fight with and die for each other. But it would _always_ be each other. Even from a 16 year old teen with extreme mood swings and a dying need to shove her virginity into his hands; it was _all_ about him.

 **Rating:** M: for sexual situations, swearing, violence, some emotional and physical neglect, the usual emotional turmoil and teenage girl problems.

 **Pairing:** Dom and Letty mainly. A little side story of Mia and OC.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Fast and Furious franchise. I do not make profit from the work. But I do make myself smile and hopefully you will also (I like to share). Review are welcome as payment if you feel yourself desiring such.

 **Note:** It's been done before, many times. It's been done well, it's been done kinda alright, but I am doing it also. It's a teenage Letty fic!

I tried to stay as true to the past plot we were drip fed throughout the films, but, obviously, artistic liberties were taken. Not all of this is going to match up, there will be plot holes and I will love the bumpy ride of each one.

As it is a teenage fic, there will be the usual teenage drama of 'does he like me?' and 'am I pretty?' and blah blah, so if you are not prepared for the emotional rollercoaster of a teenage girl, I ask you do not continue.

If, however, you are ready for a rock and roll adventure into the mechanical (I have no mechanical experience, this is all fluffed in my imagination) world of fast cars, sweaty men, female hormones and the singular minded pursuit of the hottie that is Dominic Toretto, then I welcome you aboard to this fanfiction with open arms.

 **Is it complete or am I going to be waiting three month for another chapter?** A wonderful question, and I'm glad you asked. The answer is simple; I don't know. I've been working this fic in my head for about over 5 years (I think five, maybe six) and I started tapping it out over time, mostly with the flow of my Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson crush. I'm currently polishing the 26th chapter for publishing, but it's not actually finished yet, so it might be something like 40 chapters. Yeah, it's a long one. So, my aim is that as I post every two weeks or so, I will have had the time in the meanwhile to finish writing and thus will be able to finish this on such basis of a two week update. You follow? So, unless I get majorly derailed, I think this will be a regularly updated one. At the very least I have 26 done chapters to throw at you until we hit panic stations.

All the warnings are out of the way, now, you may proceed with plot, tada!

* * *

 **Chapter One; Red Friday**

Red faces. Nothing but a sea of red faces spilling from the gymnasium.

Seniors smirked knowingly while freshmen stared wide-eyed.

The gym halls 1 and 2 poured out embarrassed faces at the last bell. Lips were held together by mortification, nobody daring to say a word as feet walked faster than ever in a silence that made grumpy Mrs Herbert's library rules seem louder than a riot.

The ruby cheeks merged with younger and older years and the secret was out, it spread like only wildfire and gossip could, everyone knew what had happened in that hall: Red Friday.  
Letty numbly followed the body in front of her, mute as the others, just as coloured. Even split by gender, the talk was still enough to take years off her life.

She should have known it was coming, she'd even seen the janitors moving display boards into the gym. But, like always, her mind was focussed on more important things. Like her best friend's brother that was scheduled to pick them up… in about 10 minutes.

Panic flooded her mind, her hands patting at her cheeks to uselessly dispel the blush.

"You'll only make it worse." Letty succumbed to the flushed cheeks as she saw the same sight on her best school friends. "See you Monday, enjoy the ride."

Best school friend was perhaps a push, Letty didn't make friends well and the girl waving a hand at her as she went to find her twin brother was perhaps only made by pulling the short straw of sitting next to her in homeroom at the start of secondary school.

The title of best friend went to someone else entirely, someone sitting on the furthest wall overlooking the parking lot swinging her legs to scuff her trainers on the brick. The best friend who just so happened to be the little sister of Letty's die-hard crush.

"Letty." Mia, best friend and pseudo-sister rose her hand in the air over the flooding of people only to glimpse again over the top of her phone and alert herself to the ruby redness in the crowds.

Mia had been cursed with being born the year after Letty, something she hated with a vengeance, nobody understood her like Letty did. But, on the plus side, it meant Letty with her fearless (and reckless) bravery was usually able to test the waters a whole year before Mia had to. Recon, of sorts. "What happened?" Mia asked as Letty neared and dumped her rucksack to the floor, shoving her ass onto the wall with Mia, hair hanging down over her face.

"You know what happened." Letty grumbled. And it was putting a damper on her favourite day.

Friday was special for two very important reasons.

One: Dom (Mia's aforementioned sex symbol of a brother) was picking them up from school. That meant they could avoid the bus ride and fight for a seat between sweating adolescents.

Two: races.

Without the Friday races, Letty would have never met Dom or Mia. Dom crashed (literally) into her life and brought with him a fierce burn of passion, along with a scar and sweet memories. If she hadn't tagged along with the kids on homeroom at age 15, she never would have stood talking to Mia, never would have been almost killed by the boyracer of her brother and never would have been half as sane as she was now.

Most kids rebelled and experimented with drugs and alcohol.

For Letty and Mia, they got the same rush from the races, although it was still secret from their parents, it was far far safer (in their opinion, anyway- previous scars aside).

"Oh my god." Mia twigged quickly. There was a reason she was in the top percentile of her year. "You had sex ed didn't you?" The start of the new year brought the looming threat of sexual and valentine pressure to teenagers and with that the teenage pregnancy boom. The school had combatted that with one simple plan: STD day, or more commonly know as sed ex- the stuff you didn't want to see. More effective than a condom. "What was it like?" Mia's curiosity had led to exploration of books and a hunt for knowledge of all kinds.

"You don't wanna know." Letty groaned.

"No, I really do." Mia continued, ignoring the buzz of her mobile held in her hand. Letty knew exactly who it would be. Mia's curiosity above sex was directly linked to that text.

Alex was a transfer from upstate. Tall, blonde and the definition of cute. With an extra side of hot.

But more importantly, he was texting _Mia_ everyday since they met.

Letty pulled the phone from Mia's hand as she ran with dizzying ideas in her head. She unlocked the phone with the code Mia had never changed and read her eyes on the sickeningly cute text.

' _What's your plans for tonight cutie? Xx'_

What had started out as a study date to catch up the new transfer had turned into a library of conversations about anything and everything.

"Tell him you're jumping off a bridge." Letty droned, chucking the phone back.

Mia blushed and tapped out an equally cute reply completely ignorant of Letty's suggestion. There wasn't anything wrong with Alex, he was a good guy, but it wasn't like they would ever mention to Dom that his baby sister had anyone taking an interest in her. He'd lock her in the basement for the next 10 years, which would obviously have a negative impact on Letty's mental health, so she just couldn't allow that at all.

Last time Dom was aware of anyone male within five feet of his sister he hadn't reacted so well. Mia had hosted a group study project at her house, one of the boys she was working with sat just a little too close and Dom was picking him up, kicking him out of the house and telling him to crush on somebody else's sister.

That had led to the great key hunt of the summer when Mia was 14; daily she had hidden his car keys in revenge forcing him to hunt before he would go to work, or his continuous dates.

She'd learnt her lesson though; dates were top secret.

"Do I look red still?" Letty asked after a few minutes of thought. It wasn't that the class wasn't expected, or introduced before, it was just that in addition to the gruesome pictures, educational videos and myth busting, there was the practical aspect. For the ladies, this included being observed to dress a plastic penis with a condom, and if it wasn't done correctly, it was done, over and over until correct, usually with everyone else in the class staring at you.

Apparently, Letty didn't know her own strength and her stubby nails ripped the latex on her first go, to which the humiliating comment of 'congratulations, you're now pregnant' from the teacher corrupted her confidence entirely.

There were rumours of girls feinting, or guys puking back up their lunch. The only fact, was that the doors opened at home time with embarrassed teens all swearing to keep their genitals from each other until their lust overpowered their memory.

"A little, yeah." Mia finally answered. "Just say you tripped the curb if he asks."

"I don't wanna sound retarded Mia." Letty grumbled, fishing in Mia's handbag for her mirror to check for herself.

"Alright, we tell him the truth, he's had health class too." But the comforting words had the opposite effects. All of those 'dangerous situations' the class had been told to avoid were rushing to her mind, all of them starring herself wrapped around Dom.

Mia sighed, pushing her compact into Letty's hands when they froze. Dom must be the only person alive to not know Letty fancied the pants off of him.

"Did they say what _it_ was like?" Mia asked in a whisper as Letty turned left and right in the mirror before dropping it back to her best friend's bag.

"Kinda…" Letty answered, wondering how much to share.

"Did they say it hurt?" Mia was all about going forward with her relationship with Alex, but the one thing that held her back was the fear of pain. There was a rumour Lacey Green had passed out when she lost her virginity because of the pain. Amy Regald was supposed to have ended up in the hospital because the bleeding wouldn't stop when she lost hers.

Whereas Letty recklessly stepped foot into danger, Mia didn't even cope with a papercut well, she was nothing short of terrified of pain of any kind. "Did they say you could take pain meds before or anything?"

"I don't think you ne-" A familiar roar of an engine cut off Letty's reply and both girls turned their heads to the sweetest ride on the planet.

Mia gave a nudge to her pseudo-sister and they collected their bags, Letty first to slide herself into the backseat of the car.

"What the hell happened to you?" Dom's first words were upon seeing Letty's red face.

"She punched someone, adrenaline rush." Mia supplied, slipping in after Letty. Dom accepted it without another word; Letty was forever known for getting into fights. It was one way they were almost mirror reflections of each other; Dom had a slippery grip on his own temper as well.

"You punched someone? You're only like… twelve." And that was when Mia and Letty saw the passenger side of the car wasn't empty like usual. No, there sat this… well, they both knew dumb blonde was a stereotype, but she was blonde, and sounded pretty damn dumb. It was clear she got by on her looks… and it was clear why Dom liked her. Two great big assets on her chest held his attention.

Letty met Mia's eyes in that condemnatory 'why is she here?' look. It was a flash, barely a second had passed since the stranger spoke, but it was enough for the best friends to convey a host of judgement between them.

And then Letty heard Dom snigger. Fucking snigger.

' _Twelve'_?

Letty had heard a host of insults headed her way, usually after she'd decked one of the lads on the playground that thought grabbing her was a good idea.

Twelve?

That was what the bitch had said.

Worse; Dom was pulling a smile, giving his laughter freely to the slut.  
Letty saw bright red burning in her mind. She was **not** 12\. She was **not** a child.  
She couldn't live with Dom seeing her as a child.

"I'm 16, so shut up." Letty snapped, her body aching to lay her fist into the intruder. It usually solved her problems. This was the highlight of her week and it was quickly turning into a slip and slide downhill.

"Hey. Apologise." Dom turned around in his seat to bark at Letty.

And that was what some people would say was the straw that broke the camel's back. The point where everything changed.

"No." Letty hissed, throwing the door back open and stepping out. She'd rather walk home than be in the same car as them at that moment. She wasn't a child!

Dom shouldn't see her as a child!

And if he thought he was apologising to his flavour of the week, he was wrong!

How could he be so far from her?!

"Letty!" she heard Mia call, but she kept storming further from the car, back into the school yard and towards the bus stop on the other side of the yard. "Letty! Wait!"

Mia's footfalls were heard behind her, coming faster and faster and Letty could feel her heart match their pace. Her eyes burnt with tears she stubbornly refused to let fall.

She'd spent the last year pining after Dom, and he still thought of her as a child. Now she wished she **had** punched someone. Mainly his blonde bitch.

"He's an idiot, Letty, you know that." Mia spoke, falling into stride with her best friend and trying to comfort the broken spirit. Letty turned, spotting the tail end of Dom's car driving off. Yeah, she knew he wouldn't bother to wait. He had more important things to do… like the blonde. Or anyone else that wasn't Letty…

Mia followed her eyes and pulled her into a hug she knew Letty would never ask for.

"I'm not a child." Letty mumbled into Mia's shoulder, her arms shaking down by her sides, the balled fists resting at her thighs. "Why does he always treat me like I'm a stupid child?"

"He's an ass." Mia offered with a laugh, though it did nothing to quell the shaking anger. "You know that. You just have the shitty luck of liking him, though god knows why..."

"Not anymore." Letty declared, but they both knew it wasn't the truth, but the anger suddenly seemed to fall from her shoulders with the decision. "I'm over him." And she pulled away from Mia's comforting embrace sharply. "I need someone else. Someone else who actually likes me! I'm entirely over your asshole of a brother." she spoke to her friend, hoping to believe the words she spoke would make themselves the truth for her feelings.

"Letty… you've been in love with my brother since you met… you can't just… get over him…" she offered the words as easily as she could.

"I don't need to get over him entirely today. I just need to find someone else to replace him." Letty corrected herself, knowing the words possessed little magic compared to the beating of her lusting heart.

"Are you trying to tell me you want to date?" Mia asked, sceptical of who she was really talking to. Possession was not entirely out of the question at this moment; the Letty she knew only ever had eyes for Dom.

"Yeah. Why not? I'm tired of being this _child_ , I want it all done with. I want everything, from first kiss to first fuck."

"Woah. We were just talking dating, nobody said anything about losing it." Mia hissed quietly, though the grounds around them were empty.

"Why not?" Letty challenged, hitching the bag back up on her shoulder and starting the walk again with Mia by her side.

"Why not?!" she repeated, tugging Letty back to a standstill again. "Maybe because all you've ever talked about is saving your first kiss for Dom, and now you want some other guy to take that… and to… well, you know."

"Dom doesn't want me, Mia. He wants skinny twig bitches like Barbie in the car. You've seen the slut parade every time he races. He doesn't want me. So… I'll find someone who does." Letty met the concerned eyes of her friend. "Gotta move on at some point." Letty qualified, feeling a little self-destructive. If she couldn't have Dom… there was nothing else important to her.  
If there was no more Dom to save herself for, did it really matter who touched her next?

If her god was gone, what was she left with but peasants… did it matter which one? They would all pale in comparison anyway.

They walked in silence, Mia churning the words over and over, trying to take a stance on the topic she'd tiptoed around for so long. They were metres from the crowd of the bus stop when Mia stopped, tugging Letty's arm to halt her again.

"Okay." Mia spoke.

"Okay?"

"Yeah. You're right. If he doesn't want you, it's his loss." And Letty grinned at the newfound support. Mia had never been judgmental of Letty's crush, these things happened like that… but, she'd never taken a side either… she'd always assumed Letty would eventually get it out of her system and move onto someone else who Mia wasn't related to.

"Thanks Mi."

"But you're telling me everything!" Mia qualified. "And I wanna know what it's like. When you do… _you know_." Letty laughed.

"Alright alright. I gotta find a guy first." Letty answered, linking her arm with Mia's offered one and letting her dragging them into the crowd as the bus pulled up. Letty smothered her bloody beaten heart with a smile, hoping her best friend would be too enthused to notice. By the flood of male evaluation coming from Mia's lips and the dreamy sparkle in her eye, it was a safe bet Letty could sulk her mood away on the way home.

* * *

The school bus stopped a healthy 10 minute walk from the streets Mia and Letty lived on, which meant another 10-25 minutes (depending on how much they dawdled) walk before they would be home. Which, for Letty, meant she could get her update about Alex.

"So?" she asked as they stepped from the bus, ignoring the sweat patches the crammed conditions would have no doubted caused under arms. She hated the bus; it smelled and was entirely too hot.

"He wants to take me to the new Italian place for a date sometime." Mia squealed happily, doing a little dance as she hugged her phone. The bus ride had been a flurry of this behaviour, the giddiness consuming Mia entirely.

"Seriously? That's meant to be really expensive."

"His parents have good jobs apparently." she beamed, twirling gracefully on the pavement besides Letty.

"Wow." Letty breathed, reigning in the jealousy that Mia might beat her to her first kiss.

"Yeah. I know right." Mia grinned, then paused her step. "What am I going to wear? Oh god."

"More importantly, how are you going to get away from Dom?"

"Easy. I'll be at yours all evening of course." She laughed her lie. Mia had a talent of thinking on her feet, Letty was sure it was why she was so clever while Letty struggled to get through her maths exam every year.

"Or…" Letty began. "Instead of going back, you can tell me all the details afterwards, and we can sleepover."

Letty's mom wasn't much of a Dom fan, in fact, she rather disliked the boy. But she was Mia's number one fan. She thought she was a great influence on Letty and welcomed her over anytime, actually, she encouraged it.

"Yes!" Mia exclaimed. "And then I won't have to worry about Dom catching me leaving in my clothes." she added, yet again, something Letty wouldn't have thought of until the day it happened. Mia's brain certainly was a wonderful place. "How about movie night tonight?" Mia began again and it took Letty a few steps before she caught on.

They both knew Letty went to the races to watch Dom race and see all the car modifications. Her mechanical brain loved it. She knew what she was talking about as well, it was why Mr Toretto gave her a part time job at his shop over the weekends. Plus, Jesse and Leon were always there, and they were a laugh a minute.

"What about Jesse?" Letty spoke, her mind elsewhere. But Mia's kept up with ease, another testament to her marvellous mind and their great friendship.

"You'd only be doing that to hurt Dom." She thoughtfully answered. "Someone else. Oh! I can do your make-up tonight if you want to go."

"Yeah." Letty agree, flying on instinct rather than thought (which would have been a no based on her last memory of Mia playing beautician with her). "Yeah. We can find me a man!" Letty exclaimed.

* * *

Speculations and reviews are always welcome :)

If I do happen to get a move on with finishing this, I will post more frequently. I promise.


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you for the reviews, me likey that you likey :)

* * *

 **Chapter Two: Dune racing**

Letty left her empty house, a scribbled note of 'Sleepover at Mia's' on the coffee maker for when her mother returned from work and she charged her way over the two streets that separated the Toretto's from the Ortiz teen. The rucksack bounced against her lower back with every step, it contained very little considering she spent most of her time at the second home and had an entire drawer in Mia's overly stuffed wardrobe.

"Evening Mr Toretto." Letty called, waving her hand as she raced the 13 houses she had left on her track.

Mr Toretto stood from his position over the car's engine and waited for the fireball that was Letty to come crashing into his drive. "What are you doing?" she asked instantly, skidding to a stop infront of the open car bonnet, her hands and enthusiasm straight into the engine.

"Calm down wrench monkey, it's only a spark plug change."

"Oh, can I help?" Letty was already shrugging off her rucksack.

"Sure, the box is on the side in the garage."

Letty dumped the bag and chased Mr Toretto's finger into the heaven that was the Toretto garage.

There was a good reason the Toretto's owned a garage; they knew exactly what they were doing with every piece of a car. It was the reason Letty had beamed brightly on her first trip to visit Mia after the races. It was the reason she pleaded and begged Mr Toretto to let her come to his shop and eventually score herself a weekend job there. Letty had watched her dad fix his motorbike over and over as a child, but it was nothing compared to Mr Toretto's garage.

"Are you at the races this weekend?" Letty asked as she returned, handing the box over.

"Formula one." he answered with a smile. "If you're coming around again, Dom's still in charge." he chuckled.

Mr Toretto was a bit of everything, he raced, he marshalled, he repaired and he delivered first aid at the races (for both car and person). Mr Toretto only raced the actual cars competitively nowadays, he passed on formula one and motorcyles after Mia was born he said, but he would be away every weekend (there was a family agreement now Dom was legally an adult) to either support, supervise or aid in the variety of land races he adored. There was engine oil in the Toretto bloodline which would never run dry.

"I still don't think that's wise." Letty grumbled, following Mr T's instructions though she had changed spark plugs a million times before.

Mr Toretto just chuckled.

Letty liked to believe Mr T knew about the races Dom, Mia and Letty would attend illegally. How could he not when he saw the money that went into his son's car?!

But he was carefree, proud and just all-round jolly. He made every problem they had seem tiny. He didn't care if he came home on Sunday night to every one of Dom's friends sitting and playing video games, he'd just ask if they'd eaten and order them pizza if not. Vince was Dom's best friend since childhood and had a second home on the Toretto's couch, he stayed over most nights. Mr Toretto was fine with it. He'd taken Dom and Vince with him a few times before when he'd been able to get Mia a babysitter or a sleepover at Letty's, but when the boys couldn't put their own foot into the cars and race themselves, it wasn't half as exciting to them.

"Mia's calling you, Letty." Mr Toretto advised and sure enough Letty peered around the raised bonnet to see Mia hanging her head out of the window shouting about make-up. "Play nice." Mr Toretto spoke with a hidden smirk on his face, taking the leftover plugs from Letty.

Letty dragged the rucksack up the flight of stairs, taking two at a time and letting herself into the first bedroom on the right.

"Good, sit!" Mia encouraged roughly, putting hands on Letty to manoeuvre her into the vanity chair. "Now, I'm thinking dark colours, highlight your eyes, contour your cheekbones and the same light to heavy lines I did with the eyeliner last time, yeah?"

Letty screwed her face up in the mirror, not understanding the words and half watching Mia drag her brush and bobbles out of her rucksack on the bottom bunk of her bed.

"Sure?" Letty replied, sticking her tongue out at her reflection.

"I told him yes." Mia spun the conversation 180 again and Letty barely caught into the topic again. "We're going tomorrow. He's going to meet me by the bus stop at 5."

"That's fantastic, Mi." But the enthusiasm was gone from Letty's voice entirely. Letty was thinking about the bedroom next to Letty's, more accurately, about the man that owned it.

"And, I found the perfect dress for you." Letty turned where she sat to see Mia with her arm swallowed into the crammed closet and battling out a hanger from the recesses.

Letty's mother had dragged her feet about her daughter growing up, like it would ever change, she was a practical person and would only re-iterate that there was no practical reason for Letty to own a showcase jaw-dropping dress at her age.

Thus, she borrowed Mia's.

Mia had spent her saved money on make-up, clothes and shoes. Letty could have started a secret clothes supply for the races but she was saving up for a car and the kind of funds Letty had didn't allow for car saving in conjunction with sexy dresses.

Sacrifices were made.

Letty didn't care.

"This, is my best idea yet." Mia held up the hanger to her body. It was a far cry from the well worn jeans and tank top Letty would have been happy showing up with. The dress was an off-the-shoulder black slinky thing that cut off just above Mia's knees. It would show every lack-there-of curve, every panty line and every bit of dumpling fat she had on her. "Oh, wait, no actually…" Mia dove into her wardrobe again at Letty's expression and Letty resigned herself to the routine.

Somewhere mid-plait Mr Toretto's voice shouted up the stairs to say he was leaving for the weekend. He re-iterated about where the emergency numbers were, where the take-out menu's were, where his keys were if Dom needed to move a car and about the precious value of doing homework and having a bedtime.

The girls wished him well and he landed the last bombshell as he slipped out the door.

"Dom'll be home in 10 ladies, behave." The door shut behind him and Letty heard the engine start up on the drive a few seconds later.

"There." Mia tapped Letty's back to signal her finish and Letty twisted herself left and right to admire the intricate braid Mia had no doubt spend hours learning on youtube. Time well spent now Letty could see it for herself.

"I like."

"Good. I won't be long." Mia left for a shower while Letty splayed herself on the bottom bunk with her history homework with the music channel in the background.

Letty was finishing the quiz on world war two myths and facts when she heard the door open again.

Heavy boots climbed the staircase and the door in the bedroom next to her opened and closed.

She listened to the shuffling and double drop of shoes being kicked off.

Her heart felt funny again.

Funny like the stupid thing hadn't already learnt its lesson today.

Letty turned up the music channel and pushed herself off the bed to Mia's closet of mystery, she was getting over Dom tonight. She had had enough.

Mia, despite being a year younger, had more curves, bigger breasts and less stomach fat than her pseudo-sister. Which made a lot of her dresses look stupid on her.

Letty pried the weight of the hangers apart to search through dress after dress.

Mia walked back into her room with her towel wrapped around her underwear to find Letty with her hands on a dress she'd completely forgotten she had.

"Oh my god, yes, you have to wear that!"

The dress was black blocks hidden behind tasteful lace, short, but the midsection was thin lace over the bones of a corset waist. It looked like something you'd see celebrities wearing for nightclubs.

"How do you even have this?" Mr Toretto would never let her buy this with him, neither would Dom.

"Charity shop." Mia answered. "Plus a bit of alteration." Mia took the dress and turned it inside out. "Maybe I removed the midsection panel that made it decent in the eyes of male family members when I was trying to extend the bust out". Another skill Letty didn't have. "It doesn't fit me anymore, but this would be an absolute stunner on you; it's yours."

* * *

Make-up perfect, dresses teasingly stunning, Mia and Letty stepped from Leon's Skyline as he parked in the usual spot, between Jesse's Jetta and Vince's Maxima.

Automatically Letty was scanning the crowd for the familiar Supra, the one with the brother of her best friend leaning against it, his muscles cradling a racer skank to his bodywork as he locked lips.

Letty turned her head away fast.

That wasn't her mission today.

No, her mission was to ruin herself, to rid herself of the disease that was unrequited love.

"You girls get into any trouble and I swear this is the last time I'm taking you." Leon chuckled, sitting atop his hood and giving them a salute as they merged with the crowd.

Dom had long since refused to take Mia to the races. Something about brotherly duties that tended to come and go when he wanted them to.

"You gunna be in trouble." Jesse sing-singed as he found them in the crowd, Hector by his side.

Hector's compliments were surely he same though he vocalised them with a wolf-whistle and a slow shake of his head.

"How'd you even get Leon to agree to drive you?" Jesse continued. He would have been their first choice for a ride, but unlike Leon, Jesse was far too loyal to Dom's orders. Leon was influenced by manipulation. And the girls were very skilled in manipulation.

"Dom gunna kill ya, looking like that." Hector agreed with a smile.

"He probably won't even see us." Mia voiced, side-stepping the men and tugged Letty with her.

"He never does." Letty added under her breath, tripping over the borrowed heels to keep up with Mia.

There was one sure-fire way to avoid Dom's eyes; stay away from the skanks.

They made their way through to the fire-escape of the abandoned industrial building as per usual. They got a good view of the races but would never met Dom's lifted gaze past the queued whores.

Mia had her hands on her phone as they settled themselves on the black iron of the first floor gridding.

Letty was already locating the man her fool of a heart wanted.

He was accepting a cheeky groin massage as he drank in the latest sluts barely covered breasts.

What she'd give to be that girl, to be the one he groaned into the ear of as she made him happy. The one he'd wrap his arms around and whisper secrets to, drawing laughter from.

But Dom didn't care about who was in his arms.

He would take anyone who wasn't Letty.

So Letty was going to do the same; anyone who wasn't Dom.

She dropped her eyes to the field of view. Men milled around dragging their gaze over the many womens of the races, desperate, hungry and wanting.

It shouldn't be hard.

"What about Mr Tall and Dark?" Mia asked, her attention temporarily taken from her phone; she must be awaiting a response.

Letty followed her gaze to a guy standing near Jesse and Vince.

"Too tall." Letty instantly responded.

"Okay. Umm, Blonde and petrol head." Mia offered instead, extending a finger across the cars.

"Too skinny."

"His friend?" Mia tried again.

"Too fat."

Mia didn't need to voice it aloud but they both knew where the problem really was; they weren't Dom.

It was clear as day, the girl wasn't even a little bit over Dom.

Mia let Letty have her choice though, she returned to her conversation about good movie sequels with Alex whilst Letty daydreamed.

"Vince's spotted us." Letty spoke after a while, noting Vince walking next to Dom as he rolled up to the start line for his race.

"He won't say anything." Mia swore.

Letty watched Vince turned his dark eyes back to his grease-brother and gave some parting words as he stepped back from the car.

"His bitch has gone." Letty commented. "From this afternoon." Letty added.

Mia narrowed her eyes and conducted a friend-obligatory scan of the crowds.

"Maybe she was one of his recycled lays?" she guessed. It wasn't rare that they never saw Dom's chosen flavour ever again.

"One day only?" Letty suggested.

"He's certainly being _friendly_ enough to conclude she isn't anything important." Mia offered. Both girls watched the woman that had been treating him to an over-pants half handjob pass her thong through his driver's window. Of course, he accepted. "I told you Letty, he doesn't value _any_ girl."

"He'll value her enough to sleep with her." Letty retorted, unable to keep the bitter bite from her words.

Mia wrapped an arm around her shoulders, setting her head on her shoulder in support.

"He's an ass." It was conclusive to Mia, she'd known it for far too long.

"An ass who's racing." Letty sighed, settling her arms on the banister to rest her chin and watch the other cars draw up. "An ass who'll end up winning."

The other competitors had clearly heard of Dom's rep of winning but it didn't stop them from picking their presumed prizes from the line up of ladies that crowded them, gestures left little to the imagination about what these prizes entailed.

"Men are all asses." Letty re-concluded sadly.

"Agreed." Mia spoke. "Except Alex."

"Juries still out until tomorrow." Letty corrected.

"Do you think he'll kiss me?" Mia asked, a nervous edge in her voice. "What will it be like?"

"I don't know…" and the burn in her chest rose again.

Her eyes went to the racer chick that dropped her bra and bared her chest to start the race. Her eyes followed the Supra and the driver she had kept her first kiss for. The driver that didn't want anything to do with her.

Dom pulled ahead easily, he sped forward and left the others fighting for second place. For Letty, that was Dom all over; he was superior to all men, left them in his dust in every way.

But men like Dom didn't look in their rear view at the women standing behind them.

"Oh Jeez, you don't mind do you?" A black head of hair poked up the fire escape, the owner of said hair at the top of the stairs. "I was just looking for somewhere less crowded."

"We don't mind at all." Mia answered quickly, a smile plastered on her face.

Tall and dark from before, and in closer light, Letty could confirm he hit the triad with handsome as well sat himself next to Mia, offering a cigarette across to each of them.

Letty was half surprised when Mia didn't launch into a barrage of reasons why he should stop smoking to preserve his life. Instead Letty got an elbow to the ribs and not-at-all hidden nod of head towards the boy.

Letty wasn't blind, and from the guys smothered chuckle as he lit up, Mia wasn't subtle.

"Enjoying the racing?" he asked as Letty contemplated elbowing her best friend right back.

"Always." Mia spoke for Letty. "It's our favourite place to be. I don't think we've seen you before I'm sure Letty would have remembered your face." Letty was feeling her cheeks flush red at Mia's embarrassment of her.

But the boy grinned, raking a hand through jet black hair that shimmered like an oil spill.

"Visiting a cousin, figured I'd check out the local scene while here." And then he shot his blue eyes to Letty directly. "I'm not regretting my decision at all." The grin he gave said nothing good would come from knowing him. Even the cigarette didn't smell like pure tobacco, no, there was something illegal there. The guy ran with the wrong side of the track. The kind that a pretty face covered dark dark deeds.

Letty scanned him, finding an edge of a neck tattoo that probably signalled gang affiliation and a scar on his knuckles probably from a fight that ended in the hospital.

He has 100% bad boy.

100% wrong.

A cheer lit up the ground below them and all eyes directed themselves to the winning car.

Supra.

Dominic Toretto.

His prize was quick to claim him, throwing herself into his arms and lip locking the adrenaline spinning driver.

Hector broke the crowd with the prize money, his bookie side-career doing far too well on nights like this. As usual, Hector announced a party at his cousins house to the entire circuit, welcoming all to celebrate Toretto's win.

Dom gave a fist bump, a holler and a shout of victory and snared his arm around the closest woman to him, wrapping her in his built arms for a hellfire scorcher of a kiss.

Letty felt her body burn.

Jealousy, depression, anger, self loathing.

And then came the self-destruction.

Letty turned to the black hair, to the leather jacket, to the double meaning tattoos and the bad boy that would thoroughly break her heart.

It was a cure she couldn't think through at that point.

All Letty could think, was that a broken heart couldn't love.

It was freedom from the prison of loving Dom.

Even if it meant breaking herself in the process.

"Letty." Letty introduced herself, sticking an arm across Mia's body between them.

"Dune." he responded with a smirk, the cigarette dangling from his mouth as he took Letty's hand in both of his. "You coming to the party, Letty?"

"Absolutely." Letty nodded.

"Then I'll see you there." And he made his way back down the fire-escape like it wasn't the first time he'd jumped from one, most probably pursued by police.

Letty followed him with her eyes, watching him collect his winnings from Hector. He turned back before the crowd swallowed him and shot a wink straight back to her.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?" Mia hissed, slapping Letty.

"What?"

"You did see the variety of warning signs, right? The giant billboard that says he's no good!" Mia snapped.

"Yeah. He seems perfect."

"Really? That's the kind of guy that's gunna get you over your crush?" Mia dropped the attitude for amazement.

"Absolutely." Letty voiced, standing and dragging Mia up as well so they wouldn't miss their ride with Leon.

This guy was going to cure her, in the worst way.


	3. Chapter 3

As it happens i'm not too good at this 'update every two weeks' thing, maybe we'll say every week? It's not my fault! I get so happy reading your reviews I just feel you guys deserve another installment!

I'm flagging up a warning for this chapter; it depends on your interpretations, but it could be seen as non-consensual

* * *

 **Chapter Three: Dangerous Situations**

Letty had convinced Mia not to judge a book by its cover by the time they were stepping into the party. Leon had played designated younger sibling driver but as usual had been greeted by a girl he'd once known 'intimately' and left them at the door to fend for themselves.

Mia and Letty made their way through the house, greeting familiar faces and passing compliments to the few women they actually got along with (Ie: hadn't and didn't want to sleep with Dom). In this current house, the total was one; Tessa King.

Tess handed them a vodka lemonade on the sly and began the conversation about dresses and make-up. It was no wonder Mia adored her. Tessa generally had a bottle of vodka in her purse and wasn't against sharing with the two girls like they were younger sisters at a sleepover. And there was only one reasons Tessa didn't crave Dominic, that was Vince. Tessa had been at school with Vince and had been his long term friend, and at periods of the year when loneliness sprang, they were friends with certain exclusive benefits.

Mia and Letty took the drinks with glee, drinking in the sharp tasteless vodka that spiked their lemonade.

"Did you watch the Milan exclusive?" Tessa started again, no doubt it was about fashion and from Mia's gutted response and eagerness for a play by play, Letty wouldn't care at all for it.

Letty put her attention into her drink and by the time it was all gone, the conversation had only moved from maxi dresses to little black dresses.

Letty roamed the room, her eyes scouring for Dom like it was necessary to survival. Instead, she caught blue eyes out of the kitchen window with a cigarette in his mouth. The mouth curved into a smile, the eyes flared, summoning her to him.

"I'll be back." Letty spoke, earning a half hearted response from the women as she slipped out into the garden.

"Letty." Dune greeted. "Looking absolutely stunning." Letty blushed again, she'd have killed for those words from Dom. She'd never expected they'd be so freely given from someone else. "Drink?" he extended out a flask, sloshing the contents with a smile.

"I'm good." She smiled. "What kind of name is Dune anyway?" Letty had never been nervous talking to boys. In fact she got along better with them than all the traps and hidden insults with her fellow females 'friendliness'.

"Alright, you got me. It's Charlie." He finished the cigarette and dropped it to the floor, easily crushed under his biker boots. "Charlie Dune, but most of my buddies just call me Dune." He took Letty's hand and guided her to the picnic bench a few other smokers just vacated. He sat opposite her, leaning back on his hands like the picture of ease. "You got your own ride yet?"

"Saving up."

"Yeah, you got a car in mind?"

"I'll know it when I see it. Either way, it'll want some mods."

"And you'll do 'em yourself, right?" but the question was asked like he already knew the answer. Did he know Dom?

Letty found herself glancing over her shoulder, where was Dom?

"Your friends seem nice." Dune nodded to the window where Mia and Tess were still gossiping, drawing back her attention.

"Yeah, that's Mia." Letty grinned.

"Toretto?" he asked, earning Letty's nod. Most people knew the Toretto's, they were something of a celebrity in the racing world.

"Jeesh, thought she was younger the way people say he is with her." Yeah, Letty wasn't surprised at all by that. "He like that with you too?"

"No. Dom couldn't care less about me." Again Letty spun around at the sound of laughter. It was just a couple in the corner.

"Com'on." And then Dune was standing again, taking her hand in his warm ones "How about I make you feel a bit better about that fact, huh?" Letty followed him, her mind spinning as he led them to the dance floor, fist bumping a few guys he shuffled past in greeting.

"What?" she asked as Dune spun her to his chest in the middle of the dance floor.

"It's alright." he soothed, his hands slid down her arms and warmly over the back of her dress to rest on her hips. He urged her into a heavy rhythm to the music.

Just as Letty was beginning to enjoy herself, she caught sight of something she, for once, wasn't looking for.

Mia's big brother was at the bottom of Hector's cousins stairs, two girls hanging off of him. One with a hand snuck under his tank, the other with her hand down his jeans. Dom didn't see Letty. He didn't seem to see anything. He was far too busy identifying if the sister were twinned in breast size as well as DNA. Twin one had just finished sucking off a lime from her sisters fingers before sticking her tongue down Dom's throat.

It burned Letty from the inside out.

She felt like she could hear his moan all the way across the music, even over the loud beat.

"Drink?" Dune asked her, his lips by her ear. His hands pushed the flask into hers.

Letty turned to look at those blue eyes that threatened to ruin her and she took the offered drink, uncapping the drink and taking a huge swallow.

She coughed the toast to her own freedom but Dune held the flask and offered it again. "The taste grows on you."

"It tastes like gasoline." she commented.

Dune put the flash to his own lips, but instead of what Letty presumed was a show-off, he slipped his fingers into Letty's braid she urged her lips to his.

The gasoline slipped with his tongue into her mouth and Letty drank it deep, through surprise if nothing else.

She balked at the taste once more, but the alcohol was seeping over the blazing trail Dom left.

She felt Dune's hands back on her hips, continuing the dance and grind as he stole another swig for himself from the flask.

Her eyes went back to the stairs; no Dom.

She didn't need guesses for what he was doings.

Probably balls deep in a twin.

Those 'dangerous situations' from health class were blazing through her mind, but there was no danger alight in her mind, only the possibility of pleasure. Except he was giving that pleasure to them.

Not her.

Letty grabbed the alcohol from Dune, at this point Dune could only help her, and the drink would help him do that.

Dune grinned with something like pride when Letty took the flash to the ceiling and took a huge gulp of the so dubbed 'gasoline'.

"It's okay." he spoke, lips to her ear as she pulled a face from the booze. "He's done this to you a thousand times before." Dune had a hand on her lower back, fingers splayed over the top of her ass, the other on the bare skin of her back that the dress showed. "You get a free pass." His lips pressed soft to her neck. It was soft, sweet, nothing like she expected. "He's up there doing this to another woman, you deserve to be happy." His kisses peppered her neck and Letty found herself stretching her neck to the opposite side to continue the sensation he gave.

Was this what it felt like to have someone want you back?

Was this dizziness what Dom felt with those two women?

His lips ran out of neck and held themselves next to hers. Giving her the option of the next step.

Yes.

Letty was done.

Moving onto something new.

Something better.

Who wanted her.

She connected her lips to hers, praying he wouldn't notice her lack of experience and hoping the way her hands ran up his chest and shoulder would feel good.

"You're fucking beautiful." he muttered against her lips, cradling her head again as he commanded the kiss.

Her eyes fluttered closed and her mind wanted to place Dom there. That she was in Dom's arms, in Dom's cologne. In Dom's bedroom with Dom's hands asking for more.

Instead, there was a taste of cigarettes, shitty beers and whatever poison was in that alcoholic concoction. With some guy named _Dune_.

A dark feeling crept into her mind.

It cried that she was cheating on Dom, betraying his memory, a toxic venom killing him.

Dune's weight was pressing against her as she tried to mimic his motions and ended up moving backwards. They stopped with her back to a wall.

His hands cradled her, keeping her from banging herself on the wall or furnishings. And then his hands sought for more.

He ran his hand over her buttock, playing with the line of lace at the bottom of the dress of her thighs and then he slid further, latching around a knee to hike it on his hips.

Letty found her eyes fly open, but the scene was nothing indecent in the party house.

Girls were practically dry humping in the middle of the make-shift dance floor. Guys rocked against their partners like a mimic of sex, a slow pulsing rhythm guiding them in each thrust.

It wasn't scandalous.

Letty closed her eyes in the sensation again.

If this was going to be how her first experience of kissing went down, she was going to put some effort into it.

"Letty." he breathed against her. "Come with me." His body stepped back from her, her leg sliding back to the floor. His hands slipped down to hers, before tagging on with just the one and leading her away from the grinding. Letty stumbled on her heels again, catching herself on the wall. Stupid heels, they made walking so difficult. She felt dizzy as well, the kind of dizzy where you don't know if its just excitement and anticipation or if you're about to hurl everywhere.

Dune's arm came under hers with a chuckle and he stabilised her to the stairs. She held the bannister the entire way up until she was in his arms again, a bedroom door pushed open and then closed again.

Letty refocussed as her ass bounced on a bed she had no idea who owned.

"Budweiser?" Dune asked, offering a bottle from his free hand, he must have picked them up on his way up the stairs.

Her natural answer was to point out it wasn't a Corona, but that was a Dom thing, and Dom was the reason why she was here.

She declined on account of the fuzziness and took the heels off her feet. She didn't understand why Mia encouraged her into these things.

A thud lifted her eyes again, the leather jacket Dune was wearing dropped to the floor.

She could see his tattoos a whole lot clearer now, they travelled all the way up his arms as the short sleeve shirt exposed them.

"Like the ink?" he asked, noticing her stare. At her nod, he pulled the collar of his tshirt over his head and onto the floor. "Wanna take a closer look, babe?"

Letty couldn't say no, he was covered in it. Colours all over his chest.

He obliged her silent response and walked himself over to the bed, standing between the gap she left in her legs.

He took her hands and placed them on his chest.

"This one's for my grandfather." he narrated, tracing her fingers over a blue rose over his heart. The thorny trail of the rose wove itself with pictures of monsters and weapons, dates and names scrawled all over him like a documentation of life. "Got any ink little chica?" he asked softly and knelt down. "I can tell you don't have any on your legs." His hands trailed from her feet, firm but gentle as he paused at the bottom of her dress again. "What about here?" his fingers dipped under the dress, hidden from view as they traced the top of her thighs, dipping between them and oh so close to her panties.

"Not yet." she answered quickly, a panic she couldn't explain rising in her.

Letty didn't fear anything. Especially not something as biologically planned as sex.

But there was a pounding to her heart that wasn't on board with the present future she was heading into.

Dune must have figured something was wrong, because he leaned over her, raising to his feet and then guiding her back to lay on the bed, holding himself over her.

"You're a virgin, aren't you?" but her embarrassment never came; he didn't seem bothered at all by the new revelation. "It's okay, we'll go super slow. I'll make sure you enjoy yourself, okay?"

"Okay." Letty found herself whispering.

There was squeaking bedsprings from next door and Letty felt her strength fade.

It wasn't meant to be like this.

It was meant to be with _him_. The him that didn't care who he gave it to, as long as it wasn't Letty.

Hands were pawing her breasts over the lace of the dress, an erection was pressing itself against her thigh, lips were slobbering on her neck and all she could smell was stale weed and spilt alcohol.

Self preservation must have kicked in because Letty found herself pushing him away from her.

"What?" he asked. "Com'on, I promise you'll enjoy yourself, it's alright, okay?"

"No." Letty scrambled her legs free and sat up.

"I thought you wanted this. You said this was okay."

"I changed my mind." Letty grabbed her head, everything felt like it was spinning as she stood.

"No, com'on, I'll change your mind again." He rounded the bed and caught her as she wobbled again. Stupid heels, she mentally cursed. But the heels were sitting by the bed staring at her.

She was drunk.

Or quite on her way there.

"What was in the flask?" she asked, lightly shoving at his shoulder.

He moved back despite the soft nudge.

"A bit of everything." he admitted sheepishly. "Look, I know you're doing this to get over him and I'm not even complaining you're a virgin or that you're using me."

"I'm not using you, I…" but he was right.

"I'm just saying, you said everything was okay and now you're changing your mind." She dodged around him as she picked up the heels, but he was stood in front of the door. "It's not like Dom's gunna change his mind. He's already fucking someone next door, you should be doing the same. I promise, it'll help you get over him."

"I changed my mind." she repeated, deciding the dizziness was most probably the precursor to throwing up everywhere.

"Look just explain it to me. I can he-"

"I said no." Letty grumbled out, her temper flaring again.

"You said it w-" Letty intended to just shove him out but it ended up being a backhand to his face as she tripped on her own feet.

He stumbled under his own alcoholic toxicity and landed to the floor. "Jesus Christ you crazy bitch, what the fuck is wrong with you?!" he hissed.

Letty paused in the dizziness of the hallway light, what was wrong with her… everything.

Letty took the stairs at a faster pace than she thought her alcohol addled mind would allow and ran straight into the dancers in the living room. She dodged and apologised as she trod on feet and barged past people until finally she reached the front door, heels in hand, mascara sweated down her cheeks, lipstick smudged all over her face but it was fresh air.

Fresh air that filled her lungs like she was suffocating.

She leant forward, hands on her knees as the sickness passed and straightened up to find a fake smile for Mia.

Only, instead, she came face to face with the winning car of the night. Parked and shining bright. Centre spot.

Fate just couldn't help but drag her kicking and screaming back to Dom each and every time she tried to run away.

Her chest felt heavy, her eyes felt the rare sting of tears and Letty felt an overwhelming tiredness.

"Jesus Christ Letty, are you kidding me, I thought you'd been dragged off to be murdered!" Mia's perfume filled her as she found herself wound in a Toretto octopus hug.

"I'm fine."

"Where did you go?!" Mia demanded stepping back to reveal a very concerned Jesse and Leon that had obviously been helping her hunt. "Last we saw you were dancing with that guy."

"Yeah. I just wanna go home."

"It's only 11." Mia spoke, confused. The girls usually pushed to stay until 2 at least.

"I've had enough."

Mia's eyes blew wide, she leaned in.

"Did you…?" she whispered accusingly. Giving a customary glance behind her to the boys with far too big ears.

"No. It just didn't work out." Letty answered.

The silence between the girls spoke far more than words could and Mia wrapped her in her limbs once more.

"Com'on, I'll take you back." Leon offered with a sigh. "You girls are more trouble than you are worth." he joked, but nudged Jesse with something that obviously was significance.

* * *

"Where's the girls?" Vince asked, finding Jesse and Leon playing some game on the garden bench with their beers.

"Went home." Jesse answered, his eyes on the crowd of smokers.

"Already?" Usually they'd stay until Dom played the big brother card or threw them into the back of a car.

"PMS." Leon answered quickly and the conversation shut down.

"Seen Dom?" Vince asked instead.

"Recently? No." Jesse offered with a shake of his head. "Last I saw, he was with the twins in one of the rooms."

"The walker twins?"

"Nah, brunettes." Leon supplied, it was hard to keep track of the many women that surrounded Dom.

The girls hadn't said much on the way home, mainly whispered and re-affirmations that whoever 'he' was, he was an ass. It didn't take a degree in nuclear science to figure a guy had ruined there night. Jesse remembered seeing Letty with some guy with black hair on the dance floor, but the current game of 'which black haired idiot ruined Letty's night' had too many contenders. For all they knew he'd gone home.

The girls had sworn him to silence though. He wasn't to let loose that he knew anything.

Jesse had seen enough to make the same connection as Leon, but for fear of more manipulation by the two deceitful minx's, they were keeping this from Dom.

Leon had never seen Letty upset like that though. Not even last year when she'd been distracted at the shop and trapped her finger in the car hood. It had broken the digit cleanly, and she'd only swore the entire trip to the hospital. And he did mean the _entire_ trip. She sounded like a sailor the way she entered the A&E department. If it wasn't for her mother working there, she would have upset a few thousand people with her language before she was seen by the docs.

"Hey Vince." Jesse began. "You remember seeing the girls with any guys tonight?"

"Why?"

"Think one had a crush, just wanted to steer him right." Leon lied for Jesse.

"Nah, there was that 72 gang guy at the races sat with 'em though." Vince was staring at the drunk woman stumbling for another beer though; easy pickings for Vince's charm.

He left the boys the next second, bigger priorities.

Some more guys came out to join the smokers and talk about the races.

"72?" Jesse whispered after a few minutes, "Don't they have a snake tattooed on their necks?"

"Yeah, snake and dice." Leon offered, taking another swig of Corona.

"So, like that dude?" Jesse nodded across to the guy with the start of a bruise forming on his right eye, a snake spitting out dice from its tongue depicted on his neck.

"Yeah, like that dude." Leon answered, standing from the bench. "Fancy having a little chat with our new friend?" he asked rhetorically and started making his way over.

Legitimately, Leon did just want to talk, to find out what happened. It was probably some chic issue anyway, but on his way across, his mind was changed rather rapidly.

"- _Fresh little virgin right outta school. Practically climbing me for a ride like a bitch in heat, apparently I'm a good replacement for her crush on Toretto_ " His story earned his laughter from his friends. It caused tightened fists in Leon and Jesse though. Jesse wasn't much for a fight, but he wasn't going to let this slide, or let Leon take the group alone. He'd probably regret that fact in the morning though. Where was Vince when you needed his muscle? _"And then she changes her mind like some princess cocktease, doesn't even offer to suck my fucking dick. It's not gunna suck itself. I should have grabbed her and had my wa"_ A fist collided with the mouth that spewed the words that incited such anger. The lad stumbled back a few steps before realising he was in a fist fight and then all hell broke loose.

His friends wordlessly backed him up and Jesse and Leon found themselves backed against the garden fence as they squared off with a small section of the 72's.

Beers were abandoned and fists met faces and soft tissue repeatedly.

Jesse would be the first to admit he should never get into a fight, someone clocked him on his nose, causing a sickening sound and blood to pour out, but Leon had one on his back thumping his kidneys and another trying to slam into his ribs. Jesse put loyalty above pain once more and charged with a pitiful war cry to rag the assailant from his buddy's back.

Leon found himself slammed against the tree, raising his knee repeatedly to his personal slammer's face when a voice broke the fight, loud and brassy tones that commanded people pay attention and quickly.

"Hey!" It yelled. Leon got in another slide of his knee to face before letting the fucker fall on his face. "Oi! What the hell is going o-" the voice cut short as a fist ran into the owner. Both Jesse and Leon winced from their frozen fights as they watched Dom take a fist before decking the guy in a single retaliation strike.

Jesse looked across from his place pinned on the floor to see the snake spitting out dice on the neck of a black haired, blue eyes little fucker with a big mouth laid out by Dom.

"What the hell do you two idiots think you are doing?!" Dom shouted, yanking the guy off of Jesse and pulling him back to his feet. Leon stepped from the tree, slightly concerned about the newfound pain radiating from his knee, he hoped beating the snot out of that little fucker hadn't messed up his old football injury again.

"Don't look at us, the little fucker was chatting shit abo-" Leon stopped short and scratched his head as he formulated his lie. "this girl I knew… and I had no choice." Dom rose an eyebrow, obviously disbelieving.

Dom's shirt was in disarray, his jeans barely shuffled on, not even zipped yet and no shoes or socks. Obviously the fight had interrupted something.

"Home. Both of you." Dom ordered. Leon didn't both to argue, just jabbed eye daggers at the fucker that started it and passed Jesse some napkins as he walked past the drinks table. Jesse had his ego tucked between his legs and head hung in shame, the bleeding barely a trickle.

He'd regret it in the morning, but for tonight, peace was achieved.

Dom looked down at the little snot that had attempted to damage him. Sure he had a twinge to his cheek, but it wasn't enough of a hit to damage a real man.

Dom crouched and pulled the kid into the recovery position until he came around.

As he did, he remembered the face.

The kid had been sat with the girls at the races.

Fuck sake.

With a barely smothered groan, he stood and walked himself back up the stairs to the twins.

What had the girls gotten themselves into now?


	4. Chapter 4

You guys, you are so sweet in your reviews. I shall try to keep by a weekly post, if life tries to get ontop of me, I shall push it off and do a post at least every two weeks for your lovely selves.

* * *

 **Chapter Four; Bruised**

Letty awoke groggy and tired, her eyes still heavy, but something, or, more accurately, someone was making noise. She rolled on the bottom bunk to see the pink glow of Mia's alarm clock. 5:23am.

Letty was optimistic enough to believe the giggling belonged to a lost burgular.

But no; this was the last thing she needed.

"Mia." Letty whispered. "Are you awake?" It was a long shot, Mia slept through anything, include her brothers midnight- midmorning(?) conquest. The second of the night, or did the twins make it third? "Mia, you are not going to sleep through this." Letty pleaded in stage whisper to the top bunk, extending her foot to the mattress between the slats.

Mia didn't even stir.

She never did.

Letty pulled the pillow over her head in a hopefully futile attempt at peace.

If she couldn't see it and couldn't hear it, it didn't happen, right?

The giggling grew louder, followed by a drunken 'shush' and then more giggling as someones foot caught the banister at the top of the stairs.

Letty still heard the door next to their room open and shut.

She still heard the belt buckle clatter to the floor and the bedframe bump the wall as they fell onto it.

More giggling muffled its way through the wall and pillow to Letty's ears.

Annoyed and nursing the start of a headache, Letty couldn't help but wonder what the fuck was so funny?! Sex was meant to be romantic, not a circus show!

Definitely not when with Dom.

A groan, a moan, more giggling as the lamp rocked on the desk, probably assaulted by an item of clothing in their haste to undress.

The night hadn't gone as planned and now the morning after was even worse.

"Mia, are you fricking kidding me?" Letty kicked the mattress again. Nothing answered her back, not even a 'fuck off'.

Next door was alive with heavy breathing and moans that vibrated down her bones.

It wasn't a rare thing, Saturday morning usually had a victory prize taken home.

Usually, he was quiet.

Well, quieter than this.

But maybe the universe was out to get her.

Maybe her mental insults of the blonde bimbo in his car had earned her karmic payback.

Or, maybe he'd drunk too much to forget to quieten the cowgirl riding him.

How did she know?

The 'Yehaw!' between giggles was a big give away.

It should be her, she though pitifully, for the 100th time that month.

She could close her eyes and picture herself with her palms on Dom's broad chest, meeting his dark eyes with adoration as he gave her pleasure that would be incomparable.

Instead, she had the one woman parade of sexual adventure to listen to.

And it was always that way, it was always the woman who would be moaning and groaning, calling his name and giggling.

They cried to god, to Dom. For harder, faster, more and more.

Clearly he gave because their next words were always a giant moan.

But Dom, there was a grunt or two at the best of times.

For Letty, it stung all that more.

It didn't aid a fantasy.

Worse; all she could imagine was that he was willing to give pleasure to every other woman that graced his life, despite what little he got from it. As long as it wasn't Letty.

Letty fisted her hands in the pillow wanting to scream, wanting to drag her off him. Wanting Dom to _see_ her.

But he wouldn't.

Because she was just a child.

* * *

Letty managed to find what little sleep her mess of a mental state allowed, she re-dressed in her jeans and tank and chose to forgo her usual highlight of her weekend (Dom's ride to work together, just the two of them, alone) in favour of the long walk.

For whatever reason, when she made it to the garage still 10 minutes before her official start time, he was in a foul mood.

"Where were you this morning?" he snapped. "I waited." he grunted.

"I walked." She shrugged with her answer, not seeing the problem with breaking routine. She picked her coveralls from the bench along with the list in Mr Toretto's handwriting for her list of jobs.

She was happy to avoid him and thankfully, the list contained nothing she needed Dom's guidance for.

"What the hell happened last night?" Dom demanded, following her as she sat on the bench, tugging the coveralls over her boots and jeans.

"Nothing." she answered quickly, emotionlessly, her focus entirely on getting the material over the studs on her boots.

"Bullshit." he barked, "What happened?"

"Nothing." she repeated with anger, straightening up to pull on the sleeves and finally catching a glimpse of the petrol spill coloured bruise on his cheek, just above his jaw. "What happened to your face?" she was instantly on panic, extending a hand unconsciously to him.

He stepped back, his eyes darkening.

"Nothing." he spat back. "Get to work." And like that, he was away, turned to the Toretto office to pick up the paperwork of the day for the boys.

Letty didn't have the right to press it, she wasn't exactly the type to abhor violence as an answer.

She turned to the Pontiac up front in desperate need of an oil change.

She found 10 minutes of peace under its hood, the oil already creeping up the coverall sleeves and onto her face unnoticed when she heard the familiar sounds of the Skyline and Leon and Jesse stepping out to work. She twisted her neck around to the clock, 10 minutes late.

Dom never yelled at _them_ though.

"Hey girl," Leon bounded over, throwing an arm over her shoulder in a half hug. "How you doing?"

"Tired." Letty sighed, Dom's 'guest' had kept her awake for longer than she liked. And for the second time that day, she looked up into bruises. "Jesus, what happened last night?" Her oiled fingers left their mark atop the deep purple bruise over Leon's shoulder. Not to mention Jesse's badly damaged nose, the entirely of his skin under his eyes was black, he'd probably broken it.

"Nothing Chica, had a… disagreement." Leon offered. It was a good job she wasn't checking his knees, because damn, there was a black bruise there that was killing him with every step.

"All of you?!" she asked, rounding the Pontiac and Cadillac for a closer look at where Jesse tried to shy away.

"Big disagreement?" Jesse offered, hoping it would turn her attention from him.

"How did I miss this?" she cursed.

"You should see the other guys. Trust me; we look much better off." Leon offered with a grin, picking an apple from the side, most probably Dom's apple, and throwing it up in the air before neatly catching. "Oh, and you should have seen it. Dom knocks one of them out cold from a single punch" He brushed the apple on his shirt before taking a huge bite from it.

"Of course he did." She rolled her eyes. "What were you guys even fighting over?"

"Ummm, well…" With Leon's mouth stuffed with apple, Jesse was left to be the brains of this lie. "It was just general guy stuff."

"'illed 'is 'eer." Leon spoke around the food.

"Yeah." Jesse laughed. "Some guy spilled his beer." he supplied, nodding at Leon.

Letty spun on the spot.

"This is because some guy spilled your beer?" she asked, but she honestly wasn't surprised. "Can't believe I missed it." she grumbled under her breath and returned to the Pontiac. "Dom's in the office; he's in a _great_ mood by the way." she added; they deserved forewarning of his moods.

The boys jumped like electric had bolted through them. Jesse picked up the work sheet slid under the caddy's windscreen wiper and Leon disposed of the evidence of the stolen apple out of sight.

Around 3pm, Letty was finishing up her last car and getting ready to wash off the grease that just kept magically appearing.

Dom and Leon were in the back. She presumed the others must be out on a part run because she suddenly found herself as primary customer management when black 'fuck me' heels clicked into the shop, a soft 'hello?' echoing over the AC/DC CD Leon had insisted upon.

Letty wasn't ever first choice for the meet and greet aspect, she had heard before about her 'limited' people skills, hell, she'd be first to admit she shouldn't ever be first point of contact for customers, but the others were busy.

"Need something?" Letty grumbled out, rolling out from under the chassis to greet the long creamy legs that just seemed to keep on going and going.

"Oh, ummm, okay, hi." The legs tittered back a few steps. "There was a man, and he said I should bring my car by the shop, it's making a strange noise."

It was pretty common the boys would bring in female business after hook ups.

Generally, she could pin the girl to the man pretty easily.

This particular specimen had a black mini skirt, boob tube that barely contained her and long, straight but strangely alluringly volumised blonde hair that made even Letty second guess her sexual preference.

"You remember his name?" Letty asked, the haze of perfume making it difficult to think as she stood to her feet.

"I was a little more than drunk at the time." she confessed. Of course she was.

"Okay, what did he look like?" she tried again. Sadly, she was a big green light for all the guys. Granted, Jesse preferred brunettes, but he strayed too much to make it a rule.

"Funny story…" she laughed softly. "I'd kinda had more than a few jello shots." Letty rolled her eyes, not caring that the woman blinked several times at her like she was confused to the meaning. She wasn't running with a full tank of gas it seemed. "He was tall." The blonde offered, like that would assist her.

Letty had one question left before she brought in the whole manwhore parade to play identity hunt with. Chances are; they either saw her car, or talked enough about her car to say they'd like it.

Depending on the car she drove, she should be able to match it to preferences.

"What car do you drive?" she probed.

The blonde turned back to the open garage roller, craning her neck out to see her car.

"It's silver." Letty could feel her brain cells face palming. "Oh, and it's got a pussy cat logo." she beamed at Letty proudly.

Letty nodded with her jaw dropped open, but as little as the information gave her, she knew exactly which one of the guys this particular type of female attracted.

"DOM!" Letty shouted, pulling the press studs in the coverall apart as she headed to the back room.

Anybody, anybody at all, as long as it wasn't Letty.

"Jesus, what Letty?" he snapped and stuck his head out.

"Delivery." Letty spat, tugging her arms down. "And I'm finished for today." She kicked her legs out of the overalls, ignoring the almost trip that happened and threw them back down on the bench vindictively, not that the coveralls had anything to be blamed for.

Letty snatched up her rucksack and stomped her way over to next door whilst Dom led the bitch to her pussy cat car.

Letty announced herself into the small café with a usual smashing of the door against the bell.

"Good Afternoon Leticia, are you well?" Sonja asked without turning to identify her newest guest.

Sonja ran the greasy spoon café next to Mr T and Mia gave her a hand with the morning rush of sandwiches and restocking of the fruits and veg from the minor 'grocery's they sold.

Letty threw herself into the bar stool, the smell of bacon and food grease instantly making her hungry.

Sonja was dark skinned and beautiful, she had an accent that said she had money but a smile that said she was at one with the poorest of communities. Sonja was warm, friendly and the type to greet with a cuddle. Mia loved her. Letty kept their conversations short to avoid hugs.

"Mia almost done?" Letty asked instead.

"Almost." she confirmed. "You hungry?"

Letty didn't have time to answer the newly discovered rhetorical question before a bacon and sausage sandwich landed before her.

Sonja and Mr T had a deal which meant the boys ate free at the café whilst working. "Bad day?" Sonja asked when she finally turned around to see Letty's angry eyes as she teeth sank in for the first bite.

"Why do men suck?"

"Honey, you ever figure it out, you let me know as well." Sonja laughed and turned back to the grill as she saw one of her many regulars pull up in his van.

"I'm almost done!" came the shout in Mia's voice from the back of the store. "You're early, did you finish early?" Mia asked pointlessly from where she could be heard moving boxes.

"Easy work." Letty answered, taking another bite from the sandwich.

It was demolished by the time Mia finally stepped out of the shop with her.

"I've told Dom I'm sleeping at yours tonight." Mia began, sliding her handbag up her shoulder as they walked to the bus stop. Letty turned back to the garage, half expecting to see Dom bending the latest in the line of the slut parade over her car. She couldn't even see him, he was probably taking her into the office for a good ploughing.

Her bad mood brewed. "I'm thinking the purple dress, you know, the halterneck with the sequin accents?"

"Hmmm." Letty wasn't much into the conversation, but Mia carried it singlehandedly regardless.

* * *

Letty opened the front door and once again greeted the silence of her family home. Saturday morning meant her mother slept in late and then went to visit their grandmother in her care home. And Saturday evening was like every other evening in existence for Letty; her mother picked up the graveyard shift at the hospital. As a child, it had been super cool to have a nurse for a mum and a dad that fought for his country. Then her dad's fight got cut short and her mother lost her balance on work and family, everything slipped into what she knew; medicine.

Letty walked herself to the fridge, picking out the chocolate milk her mother probably still hadn't noticed since the last time Letty did the food shop and drained the contents.

The washing basket in the bathroom was piling up again, the fridge was looking a little too depleted to last more than two days and the crumbs of snacks and ready meals were attempting to form a carpet again.

With a sigh, Letty shoved her hair back into its bobble and headed to the bathroom to separate the work clothes from oiled clothes, whites and colours. The washing machine would be getting another blitz of a workout today. The vacuum in the airing closet was the next target and then she'd try once more to leave a shopping list on the side counter next to the coffee maker.

Sometimes, her mother remembered to make time and pick up the shopping duty. Other times, she'd leave a huge apology, money for shopping and some extra for chocolate and Letty would kit herself up with the larger rucksack for a bus trip with food shopping.

Reason number 53 of why she needed to get herself a car ASAP.

By 6, Letty was shovelling slightly undercooked chips into her mouth with one hand, the other scribbling down the answers to the mental maths speed test as they appeared on the calculator she wasn't meant to be using.

Mia had kept her in near constant update via texting. The play by play currently told her Mia had finished dessert and was probably snogging Alex's face off as they faced bittersweet departure to go their own ways home.

"Letty?" her mother's voice carried from upstairs, "Have you seen my keys?" Her mother had come home to shower and change for work. She'd never really picked herself up after her husband died.

"Have you checked the hook?" Letty fired back, tapping into her calculator again. The hook in the hall was the one place assigned for keys and where Letty would often return them too after finding them strayed and forgotten from her mother's memory.

Footfalls were heard down the stairs and a rummaging of coat pockets began.

"They're not here." Her mother fussed. "I've got work… I need them." The worry slid into her voice easily. She had taken permanent nights under the ideal of being able to spend more time with her daughter. It didn't exactly work out that way.

"Have you checked your purse?" Letty prompted, setting the pen and chips aside to join the hunt. If the hospital was what kept her mother sane, who was she to judge?

"No, I've had them since then." Her mother qualified, but Letty stepped into the hallway to see her mother unzipping her purse anyway. "Oh, sorry. I've got them." She shouted back before realising her daughter was stood in the hallway. "You okay for making your own tea?" she asked, smoothing a hand over Letty's hair and meeting a smile that re-assured her.

"Already eating." Letty let her mother run her hands over her face, checking for the sadness and depression that her mother battled with. Finding none, she stepped back. "Aunt Carol phoned the other day, have you called her back yet?"

"I'll do it tomorrow, promise." Her mother dropped a kiss to her forehead. "And I've seen the food shopping list, I promise, it's my tomorrow job as well. And laundry, oh god, we need to do laundry." she panicked again, dropping the keys from her hand as she made for the washing machine. Letty caught her hand, scooped the keys from the floor and put them back into her mother's grip.

"I've done laundry today. I'll add to the shopping list if there's anything else I see tonight. I'll go to bed at a reasonable time." She steered her mother towards the door, handing the jacket from the coat hook as she did. "I'll put the phone on voicemail, I won't answer the door to anyone I don't know and I'll be perfectly fine, as I usually am."

"Oh, I leave you alone too much don't I?" she fretted. "Are you sure you'll be alright?"

"Mia's coming and I've got maths homework."

"Oh… your father used to be good at Maths…"

There mere mention from her mother's brain had it shutting down, her mother stopped, one foot in her shoe, the other stood on the carpet. She took a long breath as she restarted herself.

It had been 8 years since the knock on the door told her mother her husband had given his life for country, the dog tags handed across in ceremony. Her mother still felt it like it was yesterday. She didn't like the reminders. Letty had fished the dog tags from the overgrown flower bed as her mother threw them out of the window and even now, Letty kept them by her bedside.

"Mom, work." Letty prompted and the blip of action faded like it had never happened.

"Oh, gosh. I'm gunna be late." Her mother skidded her feet into the shoes and yanked open the door. "Love you Letty. Shopping tomorrow, I promise."

Letty didn't hold her breath for the promise that had so often been empty before.

"I'll lock it." Letty answered as her mother turned back with keys in hand.

Letty flipped the front door lock and returned to the cold chips and maths homework, and, currently vibrating phone with an incoming call.

"Hey Mia." Letty answer, grabbing the plate of cold chips and deciding if it was worth trying to salvage a meal or not.

" _Did you fall asleep?"_ she demanded instantly. " _You haven't replied!"_

Letty pulled the phone away from her ear to see the message symbol, she must have missed it mid math.

"Not all of us can sleep through your brother's sex life you know." Letty answered, taking the plate to the kitchen to bin the attempted meal. She'd get something later.

" _Ear plugs."_ Mia advised. " _Totally not what I'm discussing right now though. Oh, Letty it was fantastic."_ Letty could imagine Mia swirling around as she spoke, it was like happiness poured out of her. _"He was so sweet, and he paid. And we just kept talking and talking and I thought there was gunna be an awkward pause or something but there wasn't. And we have so much in common to talk about. And Letty, you'll never guess what…"_

"Where are you?" Letty redirected, hearing cars in the background.

" _I've just got off the bus. He said he was going to walk me all the way home, but you know… Dom."_ The word in itself held enough of a threat. _"I told him my brother would probably try and kill him. But he was so cool about it, he said if he had a sister as amazing as me, he'd want to make sure she dated the right guy too. Isn't that cute?!"_

"Try telling Dom that." Letty snarked.

" _Please, my brother is the last person I want to tell this… Letty, he kissed me!"_ Letty felt like she'd been kicked in the stomach. Mia was a year younger, and yet she had someone to kiss that ranked a whole lot higher than Letty's throw-away attempt at love.

"That's fantastic, Mi." Letty replied on autopilot.

" _On the lips, it was just like I imagined. Just so sweet and perfect and he said he'd been wanting to do it all night!"_ Letty felt a nauseous wave rock through her; jealousy. Of Mia. She felt worse for feeling such a way, she should be happy for Mia, this was what Mia wanted, it was what very clearly made her happy. _"and he text me the second I walked out of sight around the corner and told me he hoped he dreamed about me tonight."_

"Mi, that's great, he sounds really sweet." And he did, and that possibly made it just that much worse.

" _He is Letty. And this just totally proves that not_ _ **all**_ _men are jerks."_ Letty's cynicism still erred on the side of caution before agreeing with Mia there. _"Anyway, I'm just turning onto your street, your mum home?"_

"Working tonight." Letty answered. She quickly went about tidying the kitchen of the failed attempt of food.

" _I thought she worked last night?"_ Mia asked, concern lighting her voice.

"She swapped shifts." Letty lied. Mia didn't need to know how little her mother was home. Nobody did. It was none of their business.

" _I couldn't imagine doing a night shift, still, if your mum prefers them."_

It wasn't a case of preference… Well, Letty didn't think it was, she'd see just as little of her mother if it was day shifts in her opinion.

Letty unlocked the door as Mia was walking the last 5 houses down her road, the phoneline cut off as they saw each other.

Mia had the biggest smile on her face, one the Letty was reluctant to wipe off, so she did what she did best, she smothered her despair and loneliness.

"I wanna hear everything!" Letty lied, opening her arms and embracing Mia as she ran into them.

"You sure, because I mean, after yesterday, you have total veto power on conversations."

"But then who's going to tell me what you guys talked about, and what he wore, and what you guys ate?" Letty joked and Mia grabbed her hand dragging her to the sofa for a good in-depth gossip.


	5. Chapter 5

There are good, happy chapters, and then there are chapters that you feel sorry the character has to go through... But, you know it will progress the story and ultimately it is for the best. This might be one of those.

Happy reading, thank you for the reviews!

* * *

 **Chapter Five; Obsessions**

Mia left Sunday morning, before Letty could form proper thought or speech. Sunday may be the day of rest for the religious, but the Toretto's didn't quite understand that. Mia always seemed to channel her mother bear instinct and for extra pocket money from her father would vacuum and clean the house from whatever the boys Saturday mess has conjured. Mr T would return later and they would go as a family in Sunday best for Church.

Mia said it was a tradition as old as time. Her father's father and his father's father had always cleaned up and sat before the Lord on Sunday. The BBQ tradition afterwards was more recent and flexible, but those who attended before Jesus got to attend before the burgers and hot dogs on the Toretto lawn.

Mr T had invited Letty along as well, but he'd be violating his rules; Letty wasn't going to Church. Not even for a home-made burger.

As a child, Sunday used to mean her mother fighting her into a dress, dragging her kicking and screaming into a hollow building to sit still and sing about someone she'd never seen or heard. But her mother had insisted, especially after her father enlisted himself. But when God stopped guarding her husband, her mother stopped praying to him. And when her mother lost faith, Letty stopped being dragged out of bed on a Sunday morning.

To reflect the sanctity of religion and answer the call of the communities need the garage opened when others didn't, catering to the Sunday need for repairs between 1pm and 5pm.

For Letty, this meant a lie-in and a lazy get up to feed her growling stomach.

Letty stopped by her mothers bedroom on the way downstairs, nudging the door open to find the perfectly made bed, just as Letty had left it yesterday evening. Letty trudged down the stairs and her eyes went to the sofa; sometimes her mother crashed there after a hard shift.

But, as it was today, Letty discovered her mother did what she usually did; crashed in the on-call room in the hospital after work; too tired to make it home.

Sure enough, Letty's phone had a message from her mother supporting her assumption.

No food shopping today then.

Letty poured herself some cereal and pulled on the old clothes.

Needless to say, with nothing but time, Letty arrived at the shop before Dom.

Vince was sitting up front, red bull in his hand as he perched atop the hood of his car.

"Little one." he called when he saw her, raising his can to her. "How's it going?"

"Better than you look, you still getting over a hangover?" Letty teased. It was a brotherly relationship with Vince, always annoying the other on purpose, but never going so far as to offend.

"Hey, I was fine yesterday." he groaned, dragging a gulp from the energy drink

"You spent the day in the back, puking your guts up between naps." Letty laughed, pulling herself onto the hood beside him.

"I finished the merc though." he stated proudly, not at all denying his hangover yesterday. "Dom rattled your cage for wearing the slut dress yet?" He turned the heat straight back to her.

"He never saw us on Friday." But Vince rose his eyebrows in a way that changed her confidence in her remark. "Did he?"

"You really think Dom's not gunna keep an eye on you two _underage_ troublemakers at the races?"

Letty paused her quickfire retort. Still, if he didn't say anything yesterday, he probably wouldn't. What did he care anyway?

Letty didn't get a reply out, they both turned to the sound of Dom arriving. His motions were sharp and his foot heavy on the pedals; he was in a mood.

Letty agreed with herself then and there she was avoiding him at all costs. If she needed any help today, she was calling on Vince.

On Sundays, it was generally just Dom and one of the other boys (today Vince) that pulled the shift, Letty had begged to come in as well. Mr T would arrive back from the races around 2pm and spend some time father-daughter style time with Mia, which mostly meant homework help and Mia begging for more pocket money to buy more clothes before being denied and sitting grumpy whilst watching a film together. And then after Dom returned from work, church. As a family.

Dom didn't even greet his best friend as he jabbed the key in the padlock and opened the shutters. Vince shot Letty a look that said he was on the exact same page; avoid storm Dom.

But the darkness called out to her like unforgiving thunder.

"Letty, office. Now."

"Why?" she asked, instantly on the defensive.

"Not a request." he bit out.

"You're not the boss." she fired back, his anger riling up hers.

Vince was sliding his ass off the hood, but he wisely sensed the tone and dragged himself back and out of the blast radius.

"Now." he grunted out, deep and gruff.

Letty looked back to Vince but with no support from him, she followed the angry presence that stormed into the office.

It wasn't likely to be about any of the cars she'd worked on, she was 99% sure she'd done everything right.

Unless... this was probably about yesterday and that bitch with the jaguar.

Letty muttered to herself about the cow ratting on her people skills and readied herself for the wrath of Dom's ego.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Dom began as soon as she stepped into the office. "And don't give me some bullshit PMS lie." The door closed behind Letty, sealing her in the room with the beast that still made her heart race, even as angry as he was. His anger sparked her own; uncaring and brutal.

"It's not my fault. You're the one inviting every piece of ass to the shop!" she fired straight back at him. Tempers rubbing up against each other violently in the small space. "If you want someone to be nice to them, then _you_ be here to meet them."

"I'm not just talking about yester-"

"For gods sake, she couldn't even tell me the damn make of her car!" and boy did it rub Letty up the wrong way.

"And Alice?!" he snapped.

"Who the fuck is Alice?!" Letty raged.

* * *

Vince ran his tongue over his teeth, offering a polite smile and wave at the elderly lady walking her dog past the shop with wide eyes and within obvious ear shot. Hell, half the neighbourhood probably was hearing this. The office was meant to have some soundproofing as well; Mr T had wanted it so he could concentrate on the finances whilst the boys worked. Not today though.

* * *

"What is your problem?!" Dom insisted, pressing closer to her. "You've been like this since Friday!"

It clicked, Alice was the dumb blonde that ruined her Friday ride.

"So you _can_ remember her name?" Letty's pain was coming out with her tight fists and uncensored thoughts. "How long did she last? Long enough for your pussy cat car bitch to come around, or maybe the twins didn't satisfy you, or the other one you brought back home afterwards."

Then Dom took a step back and released a short half chuckle.

Letty stared at him wild eyes, lost.

Dom looked at her like he'd finally finished a puzzle and turned back to her with renewed patience and softer eyes.

"So that's what this is about." Letty was spinning a million miles an hour to try and keep up with whatever conclusion he had just made. He crossed his arms over his wide chest. "Damn it Letty, I thought you'd grow out of this."

"Grow out of this?" she started, utterly confused. "Grow out of what?!"

"This obsession with me, Letty."

Letty felt the world give way under her feet, the words flee from her mouth. Her cheeks burned a thousand degrees and the silence span with the dizziness.

He knew?

Dom knew?

Shock turned to pleasant surprise.

He knew.

If her biggest secret was out, then he knew how she felt.

And then surprise turned to sadness.

He knew and he did nothing about it.

No; he didn't do nothing. He did exactly the opposite.

Anger bloomed afresh.

He still brought every other woman into her sights. He still claimed one after another, flouncing them infront of her.

Anger shot straight into rage.

All the many times he'd brought a woman back home. All the times she'd been in the room next to him, where she'd had to listen to his conquests. All the times he'd made out with another woman before her. Groping others at the racers whilst she could do nothing but watch.

Rage boiled over into deep loathing.

Her eyes burned as she stared up at him, her chest visibly rising with each hot breath.

Hate was creeping up, poisoning her mind, blaming him for everything she had gone through.

And yet, in the red smoke, the embers of her love still flickered for him.

They scorched and tormented her with the dark truth: Dom knew how much she loved him and didn't give a shit.

"You bastard." she spat, shoving hard at his shoulders. He didn't move, just rose an eyebrow.

She wasn't staying around, not like this. She needed to lick her wounds in private.

Dom put a hand on the door, sealing it in the frame as she went to reach for it.

"Letty we're talking about this, it's got to stop, you understand me?"

Like she wanted these feelings? Like she wanted to feel the horror that was eating at her right now?

Like she hadn't tried to stop it! "Letty." He rounded her to stand before the door. She had her eyes on the floor.

His cologne was tricking her into loving him again.

Her fingernails bit into her palms in their fists.

Her skin was bubbling with anger, the kind that happened before she would be seated in the principals office with an icepack over her bruised knuckles. But she wasn't stupid, she knew how well punching Dom would work out.

"Damn it Letty, do you understand me?"

Dom would see red just like Letty did. And Letty could not take Dom in a fight, not even a little.

She would not be walking away a winner. "Jesus Letty, if you're gunna be a child abo-"

Dom barely had a second to hear his own words before his head had been snapped aside. Pain flooded in his jaw, the same jaw he'd been slammed in by the little shit on Friday.

Her tiny fists hurt a whole lot more than that idiot's had.

Probably because it wasn't her first time laying a decent punch.

He hadn't expected to be on the receiving end of it though.

"Fuck." He heard, flashing his eyes to see Letty cradle her fist and finally meet his eyes.

He watched the blaze of shock ignite in them, the disbelieve that was probably mirrored in his and then the next thing he knew was the door slamming into his shoulder as she slid herself out, her footsteps fast and fading as she fled.

* * *

Letty came to a stop hunched over and dragging in desperate oxygen in a park she didn't know existed. Joggers passed her with curious expressions, some looking behind her as if to see a knife wielding assailant.

Letty forced herself to quickly walk out of their view before they asked questions.

She finally dropped herself by a tree, her lungs burning for oxygen and each breath dragged heavily from her lungs.

There was sweat dripping down her and a dying thirst was aching in her throat.

How far had she ran?

Worse, where the hell was she?

Even worse, how the hell was she ever going to face Dom again?

The only answer she could compute: she wasn't.

There was a crack in her heart she had fully intended upon having after this weekend, but not caused by Dom. Not so deep, not so bloody.

Her pulse pounded in her feet and she gasped in a few calming breaths.

She'd hit Dom.

She'd punched the man she was in love with.

It was not a good idea in retrospect.

Plus, it fucking hurt.

She cradled her fist and turned it left and right as if to expect some serious damage. It was red and looked slightly bigger than her matching one, but each of the fingers worked without sending her into a crying heap of pain.

Fuck.

Dom knew.

Letty closed her eyes and rested her head against the bark of the tree while she breathed.

Dom knew.

All this time and he knew.

* * *

"Mia, Letty there with you?" Vince asked.

" _Vince, why are you calling me? Isn't she at the shop?"_

"She was, but…ummm, there was a little something and she's not." Vince scratched his head and shook it at Dom, who was currently holding the ice-pack to his jaw.

" _What did you do?"_ Vince heard the movie in the background stop.

"It wasn't me. I didn't do anything alright. She just left."

" _Alright, what did my stupid ass brother do then?"_ Mia smarted. _"And you better tell me honestly, because if you've lost Letty you are in so much trouble it is unbelievable."_

"It's not my fault!" Vince repeated.

" _What did he do?"_ Mia repeatedly slowly, like one would a child.

"He… kinda told her to get over him." he over summarised.

" _He told her to 'get over him'?"_ she asked on repeat. Vince heard Mr T in the background telling her he was getting his car keys.

"Pretty much. But it's okay, just there's no answer at her house and we figured she might come to you… But, I'll find her." Vince swore.

" _She just ran?"_ Mia asked, as if magically knowing there was more to the story. Or perhaps just knowing her best friend really really well.

"After slamming her fist into Dom's face." Vince couldn't help but chuckle. "You should see this, it's hilarious there's a bruise that looks li-"

" _Not interested."_ Mia hissed. Vince heard the car door close and Mr T ask a question. _"I don't care if Dom needs to go to the hospital. Until we find Letty he's not going anywhere!"_ Mia replied to her father. _"Fine, I'll ask."_ 2 seconds and then. _"Does my stupid brother need the hospital or the dentists?"_

Vince rolled his eyes over to his best bud who was grinding his teeth as he rolled over the ice-pack.

"Nah." he chuckled out. "He can take a punch like a champ."

Dom's head lifted to give his pseudo brother a stink eye. Vince just returned a big smile.

" _Because of how stupid you both are, I need to ask this; have you tried ringing her mobile?"_

"No point, it's on the bench with all her stuff." Vince replied, bending to grab the phone in question. It had a text on the front screen from her mother about working a double shift, but otherwise was useless in locating Letty.

" _I agree._ " Mia spoke, most probably to something her father had said. She relayed it to Vince, _"Dad says to start West, her dad used to have his shop out there and she might remember the streets. Me and Dad are gunna try North; there's a park and an ice-cream shop she's mentioned before. Dom can do whatever he likes, but tell him to stay the hell away from Letty from now on."_

Mia hung up the phone dramatically and Vince rolled his eyes at the call ended screen.

"So?" Dom asked grumpily.

"Fancy taking the Ford?" Vince asked, tossing the keys to the Ford across the garage. "Needs a service." Dom caught them and accepted the duty; Letty would likely run away again if he were to go looking for her right now. Besides, someone needs to do some work today. "You want me to apologise for your big mouth when I find her?" Vince teased.

"Just go." Dom snapped.

* * *

It took a good half hour, but Letty finally recognised a street sign and vowed to never run off anywhere without her mobile again. GPS was priceless these days.

Letty was slightly impressed she had gone so far out, obviously she wasn't thinking at the time. It wasn't even in the 'good neighbourhood' anymore. Guess it was a good thing she didn't have any cash or mobile on her.

And that brought up the next problem as she walked from the back streets towards the garage; her bag had her house keys in.

With any hope, she could sneak in and out without even having to see Dom.

With Mia's quick thinking surely she couldn't have thought up another way to go home, maybe another way to retrieve her mobile and cash.

But limited as she was, all she could do was keep her feet soft and quiet as she slipped in the back door to Toretto's and cross the oil splashed ground to her untouched bag and jacket.

She rolled her eyes; of course nobody would have touched it.

Nobody cared.

She raised her eyes to see Vince's car out, Dom's still in.

She smothered a scoffed laugh, of course he wouldn't bother with her. He made it perfectly clear he didn't care anything for her.

He'd probably be in the office, laughing about her weak ass punch, or finding some new hook-up.

Bitterly, she slung the bag onto her back and headed towards the door once more.

"People were worried." A deep voice halted her in her stride. She didn't turn to it, instead focussing on the distance to the door.

People, not 'I' or 'We'. People, as in, exclusive of himself.

"I quit." she spoke on instinct, the anger talking. She regretted it the same instant. What was she thinking?! She loved her job. It was her ticket to finally affording the car.

Why did she need to have an answer for everything?!

"You quit?" the voice parroted with humour, a dark laugh following. She refused to turn to look at him, just hiked the bag further up on her shoulder and took another step closer. He managed to halt her again. "You leave through that door and you aren't coming back."

Was this the line?

"Then I'm changing days." she snapped. "Any hours you aren't here."

"Don't have anything else to do Letty. I'm always here." There was an air of enjoyment in his words. A way she felt like he was playing with her, getting off on the torment of making her squirm under his way.

That was the type of a man her heart _still_ craved: a cold bastard that toyed with her feelings and liked it.

It was decision time, a decision she thought she would never have to do.

Her chest rose with anger, hurt and sacrifice.

She couldn't be around him anymore.

Not like this.

She closed the distance to the door and slipped out as easily as she had come in. She had falsely expected some heavy weight to fall on her.

Instead, she felt like she had left a piece of herself standing in the garage, stuck in the decision.

She kept walking, the hole in herself growing bigger.

What was she going to do?

How was she going to afford a car?

How was she going to go on without Dom?

Would she ever feel whole again?

What would she do with her weekend? All alone, no mother, no work, no Mia.

She lifted her mobile from her bag as it vibrated with a text message.

 _Dom says you came back. You okay?_

As Letty was tapping out a generic 'yeah, fine' reply, another text came in from Mia.

 _He's an ass and I'm glad you made him bleed. Dad's not even pissed._

Bleed?

Letty only hit him, she didn't cut his heart out and stomp on it like he did.

Letty sent a text back for clarification.

 _On way home. He was bleeding?_

She didn't have to wait long.

 _Vince says you've got a hell of a punch, he cut his mouth on a tooth or something. His entire face is black and swollen, it's great!_

Guilt settled coldly over Letty.

This wasn't how her weekend was meant to go down at all. She was meant to be the one walking on top of her world, finally taking control. Instead, she was jobless and heartbroken.

Letty opened a message to let her mother know she'd be home early, at least they could do the food shopping.

Only, there, in her inbox was a message from her mother pulling a double shift.

Letty let the familiar feeling of disappointment settle over her.

Most days it didn't bother her more than an itch, today though, after the shit day she'd had… it stung.

Letty kicked a pebble all the way home, picked out a meal from the scraps in the fridge and flopped onto the couch.

She blindly toed off the trainers, let the bag fall from her fingers and embraced the ache.

* * *

Letty opened her eyes to the front door opening. She alerted herself to the fact she must have fallen asleep.

Her mobile sat with various texts from Mia requesting an update on the situation and how she was. From the context, Letty guessed Vince had filled her in on the majority of it.

Letty would text her a play by play later.

She rose up to see her mother taking off her coat and shoes, her car keys dropped on the side table as she passed.

"Oh Letty, I didn't mean to wake you sorry." Letty glanced at the clock, 9pm.

"s'okay."

"No, it's not." Her mother made her way over and pulled her into a hug she didn't realise just how desperately she needed. "I said we'd go food shopping and I left you all alone again."

Her mothers guilt was the last thing she needed tonight.

"I wasn't alone. Mia came over." she lied.

"She did?" her mother loved a good Mia story. "You weren't alone then?"

"No. I was fine."

"Did you find something to eat?" Her mother released her and went into the kitchen, Letty followed.

"Sandwich." Made of pepperoni slices since the bread was all gone.

"Tomorrow, we'll do something together."

"I've got school mum." Letty answered, drawing circles on the worktop with her finger.

"Of course. I'll do the shopping in the morning. I promise I will. I know I've been a bit lax but I promise tomorrow."

"I left the list next to the coffee maker." Letty pointed across and her mother lifted it to examine, probably not even reading it herself, she looked tired.

"You're a good girl Letty. I'm lucky to have you, I really am." Then another empty promise came out to apologise for the last one. "I'll get up early and drive you to school."

Letty didn't reply, she knew the future; her mother would still be asleep and Letty would walk to the bus stop as usual. "Leticia." Letty lifted her eyes to her mother's sleepy ones. "You look sad, is everything okay?"

To say her mother was hardly there, she could pick out her mood like it was sign posted. Thankfully, her mother didn't know how accurate her readings were.

"Just homework. I'm gunna finish and head to sleep."

"Night darling."


	6. Chapter 6

I am no expert but from the sounds of the reviews (love them, thank you for taking the time), it almost sounds like you want Dom to suffer for his assholeness.

Why, how cruel of you to suggest such a thing?! Poor, innocent, sweet Dom *cough cough*

Who am I kidding, yes, he shall pay. Letty has too short of a temper for him not too. Just not right now...

Stick with me folks :)

* * *

 **Chapter Six; Food for the Soul**

Mia was at Letty's door Monday morning like usual routine. But instead of Letty half dressed and rushed, it was her mother in her dressing gown that answered.

"Oh Mia honey, Letty's been up all night, she's caught some bug. I think it's best she stays home today."

"Oh. Would you mind terribly if I just popped up and gave my well wishes? I'm sure she's probably got some homework I could take in for her as well."

"Of course. You best make it quick though, I don't want you getting ill too." Ms Ortiz stepped back and waved her daughter's best friend through.

The girl even took her shoes off before sprinting upstairs; nice kid.

Mia knocked twice then entered anyway.

"I'm ill, go away, Mia." Came the noise from the duvet pile.

"Seriously? You can't pull a sickie on me. We agreed to get ill together and I've already told my dad I feel fine today." Mia complained, sitting herself on her friends duvet. "If I go home now I'll totally be called a fraud."

"Go to school then." Letty grumbled.

"What happened to solidarity?"

"We're not even in the same year." Letty tossed over under the duvet, away from Mia.

"Doesn't mean I don't need you." Mia tugged the corner of the duvet free and finally saw her best friend, miserable, but perfectly healthy. "Dom said you quit." Mia approached. The silence was answer enough. "Com'on Letty, don't let it get to you. My asshole brother is just that, an asshole. He can't break you."

"He has. And I'm taking a personal day." Letty yanked the covers back to hide her.

"Fine. But tonight, I'm coming over and we're going to fix you with every face pack and lotion I own." Mia offered, knowing it would only irritate the friend into action. She earned a finger stuck outside the duvet. A middle one. "Fine, chocolate instead." she conceded. A pleased sound emanated from the duvet. "I'll pick up your homework, shall I?" and with a smile Mia slipped out the door, hearing the pillow thwack against the door behind her.

* * *

Mia found her day dragged massively. Going to school without Letty was very different, and rare. Usually they caught a bug together just from sheer proximity. But the bus ride was quiet and lifeless, the chatter before class was gone. Even lunch was bereft. Alex tried his best, but without Letty it didn't feel the same at all.

Mia had even taken 10 minutes out of her day to empty all of Dom's toothpaste down the sink, peel all of the plastic off of his stupid protein muscle food and take the batteries from his game controllers. But even the thought of her impact upon his day didn't bring a smile to her face.

She slouched in her seat as English lit pressed on.

Alex's hand warmly coiled around hers under the desk. He knew Letty being off was impacting on his girl.

"Whats wrong?"

"My brother is an ass." she replied with a sight, her eyes on the board as another monologue example was highlighted.

"What did he do?" he whispered, a laughter in his eyes with an equal amount of fear; he'd heard the stories.

"He broke Letty." Mia replied back quietly.

"That's why she's not in school."

"Personal day." she muttered sadly. Alex squeezed her hand re-assuringly.

"It'll be okay Mia. Letty's not gunna let him keep her down."

He didn't know just how bad Letty was crushing on Dom if he believed that.

The teacher's examples grew shorter and eventually they were set off writing their own monologue for a recent movie or book they'd seen or read.

"I know it's bad timing, but…" Alex began quietly as the teacher was focussed on another teen's problems. "I was gunna ask if you wanted to come home with me, watch some movies, do biology homework." His eyes met Mia's. "But I get it if Letty needs you. She's your best friend." His fingers toyed with hers. "I didn't know if she wanted to be alone though, I thought you might want to come over."

Temptation burned bright.

Yes. She wanted to.

Definitely.

But… Letty.

"I don't know." Mia usually forced her company on Letty, but maybe, if her mother was home, perhaps she'd be intruding tonight.

"You could text her?" Alex suggested, his eyes on the way she chewed her lip.

Mia slipped her phone from her pocket where it sat on silent mode and secretly tapped out a message to Letty.

The response back was better than she hoped for. Letty said she was having a day with her mother and was happy for Mia to go hang out with Alex. She was even suggesting Mia tell her dad she was over at Letty's to cover for her.

* * *

Letty looked up from her phone where she sent the reply to Mia.

"I know I said we'd do something, but they called me in Letty. One of the nurses has pneumonia, they haven't been able to get cover." It was the seventh time in the hour that her mother had apologised. At least Letty had convinced her to go food shopping that morning, otherwise her spirit would be even more crushed. There even managed to be some chocolate in the food budget this week.

"Keys are on the hook again." Letty knew because she'd put them there last night after they fled her mothers memory.

"Are you sure you're feeling better? I can call a babysitter?"

"Not a baby and feeling a lot better." Letty insisted. "Besides, Mia's coming over after school." As was the most recent lie.

"Okay, okay. That's okay." Her mother patted her pockets.

"On the hook mum." She reminded her and her mother smiled kindly before stepping into the hall to collect the item with a jingle. "Are you doing the night shift as well?" Letty asked from the sofa where a movie continued to play.

"If they ask me to, I don't know if they've got cover." Her mother's head re-appeared to peer guiltily into the room.

"I'll see you after school tomorrow then. We can have pizza." Letty smiled.

"If you feel up to it honey. If you need another day to get over this completely, let me know and I'll ring in for you."

"I'll be fine." Besides, there was no doctor in the world that could cure her ill.

Her mother left once more and Letty resigned herself to her loneliness.

Three hours and a slight doze on the sofa later, there came a rapid knocking that could only belong to Mia Toretto. Letty dragged herself from the bed she'd made on the sofa and answered the incessant noise.

"Letty, I have a million things to tell you." Mia began, then paused and tilted her head. "You look better, you alright?"

"Yeah." Letty sighed. "I'm going to school tomorrow." Letty answered the question she hadn't asked.

"Okay, because, and I know this is sucky timing because of my brother, but I swear Letty, I'm in love!"

"You are?" Letty replied, shocked as Mia swirled on her feet past her and into the lounge. Mia didn't throw the L-word around at all.

"Where's you mom?" Mia asked, curious to the silence in the house that she so often met in the Ortiz household. Especially after Letty had said she'd spent the day with her mother.

"She's just gone to bed." The lie ran out as smooth as all the others she made for family. "She'll probably stay up there as long as we're not too loud."

"Oh, sure." Mia softened her voice and sat on the sofa, welcoming herself under one half of the blanket Letty had been wrapped in. Letty accepted the other side and the girl talk started. "His house, Letty; it's beautiful." Mia started, her arms spreading wide as she described the length of the grounds and gardens. "His mother gardens, she's a biological horticulturist." Mia's tongue smoothly ran over the title whereas Letty was guessing it had something to do with gardens. "And she bakes!" Mia had always wanted a traditional female role model. Her mother passed when she was so young she never really had it.

Not that Letty had it either. The only difference was, Letty didn't want it. "She let me help her make a cherry tart. She was just wonderful. She invited me back as well, said I was welcome whenever and if I wanted to learn to bake she was more than happy to teach me." Mia beamed brightly. "His dad is kinda quiet though, didn't see much of him really, but he seems super nice, not scary quiet like you feel like he's judging you or anything. Oh, and his older brother was there too."

"Friendly?" Letty guessed.

"Ummm, kinda got an attitude issue." Mia screwed up her face. "Alex says he's the reason they move so often, apparently there an issue with authority."

"Sounds like another asshole male." Letty added softly.

"Thankfully, Alex is not, and we went up to his room, which, by the way, totally huge. His dad is like a banker or something. And he's got this bookshelf all filled with DVD's." Mia loved her movies. "And he let me choose a film. So," Letty watched as Mia's eyes sparkled with excitement. "We decided to put on the film and cuddle on his _double_ bed." Even now Mia's cheeks were flushing warm.

"Which movie?" Letty hoped Mia hadn't subjected the poor kid to a rom com.

"Ummmm…" Mia tilted her head as she thought. "You know, I don't remember what I chose." The blush filled again. "We kinda spent the whole movie making out." she admitted with a grin.

"Oh." Letty was struggling to push down the jealousy and bring out the happiness she had for her best friend being happy. It was difficult though.

"That's not even the best bit." Mia threw her eyes over her shoulder to the stairs to check for the mother that wasn't actually home. "Okay, this absolutely stays between us." Letty rose her hand in swear, dragging her pointer finger twice across her heart. "So, we're kissing, practically on top of each other and I can feel his hand on my back where my shirt had ridden up and he stops and pulls away and then apologising." Letty mirrored the expression Mia had probably had at that time; confusion. "And he says," Mia leaned in, her voice quiet. "He says we have to stop… otherwise, and get this, he said he'll get too excited and not want to stop." Mia wriggled happily in her seat, practically vibrating with energy.

"And you?"

"I wouldn't have wanted to stop either, but it is _so_ cute that he cares that much, and I'm all for going forward, but he is so understanding about wanting to take it slow and romance me, and I just can't say no. So, we're going slow." Mia summarised.

Letty wouldn't call what Mia had slow. If it was, surely Letty was moving backwards in comparison.

"Did you guys just sit there?"

"No silly. He held me until the movie finished, he started naming all the colours in my eyes too. Said he could look into them forever!"

"And then?"

"Then I had to come home, so I rushed to come and see my _best_ friend." Mia grabbed Letty's hands tight. "See, not all men are jackasses." Mia smiled, trying to convince her best friend of the same view.

"I guess." Letty agreed on a sigh.

A moment of silence smoothed over them, a peace. Mia even looked apologetic as she broke it, her voice soft and slow.

"So…. Ummm, are you working this Saturday?"

"Probably not."

"Are we going to the races this Friday?"

Letty hadn't thought about that. On one hand, seeing him wouldn't help with getting over Dom. But… on the other hand, perhaps it _could_ help with getting over Dom. She hadn't been 100% focussed on him whilst Dune was talking to her. Perhaps her original plan just needed tweeking. Dom had crushed her heart, but it just needed someone to help her rebuild. For herself, not someone else.

If she got rid of all of her wants with some other man, surely she'd have no desire left to be with Dom. Right?

"Sure." Letty answered, watching Mia's eyebrows raise in surprise. "And I want you to do my make-up again."

"Seriously?" giddy Mia took a turn to all new heights. "Absolutely!" then she noticed the time. "I gotta get home before dad goes mental. We'll totally discuss how I'm doing your hair tomorrow!"

* * *

Thursday came around all too fast and Letty began feeling some tension regarding Friday night. It didn't stop the autopilot steps to Mia's house when conversation took over though.

"I swear Lauren Greenberg said it was an ambulance." Mia repeated as they turned down another street towards home. They'd said goodbye to Alex at the bus stop outside school and any stranger would think Mia and Alex would never be seeing each other again. Letty had spent all of the time between classes with Mia, and now, by extension, Alex.

As much as it begrudged Letty, Mia was right, not all men were jackasses. Alex was even boardering on cool at times.

"Well I saw a police car at least, it was during Mr Henderson's geography in fifth period." Letty stated.

It had been all the girls could think about; the blue flashing lights and sirens that had sped onto the school ground as the teachers tried and failed to regain attention.

"Maybe something happened." Mia began. "Violent." she added quietly, her feet dancing quickly as she theorised with her hands. "Maybe there was an assault on a teacher; you know they're getting more common."

"Crime channel?" Letty guessed. Mia had a habit of watching the crime channel late at night when all the real life stories came on about kidnappings, murders and gang violence.

"Or!" Mia began again. "Maybe it was student against student, you know there's a lot of gang stuff in school."

"You mean with the goths and the geeks?" Letty teased, "Yeah, it gets real violent with all that dead staring and confused social norms."

"You laugh, but wait until you find out tomorrow, you'll owe it to my brain."

"For the lack of alarm and panic, I'm voting its not an attack." Letty offered, trying to bring sanity back to Mia's imagination, but it seems too far gone as she spun story after story.

"Oh, what if it wasn't against someone else." Mia began again. "A goth gone too far with all that emo cutting stuff."

"Why'd they need police then?" Letty questioned rightfully. Mia may have a brilliant brain that spun at warp speed, but it did occasionally spin fiction into fact.

"Oh, no, no. Wait. It wasn't a goth. It must have been one of the plastics puking up her least meal in the toilets and a teacher found her and she puked on the teacher."

"What?"

"It's assault. Biochemical assault or something."

"You seriously need to stop watching the crime channel so late at night." Letty laughed. "It's probably just a test run." But the suggestion ran dry.

"What if it wasn't a student? What if Mr Johnson finally snapped with his midlife crisis and started throwing chemicals at the students?"

"Or maybe he slipped on the gas pedal and hit someone elses car?" Letty suggested sensibly. "Police and ambulance would make sense."

"Or, maybe there's a body in his boot of one of the students he accidentally killed and he was driving it away to bury in an unmarked grave and the cops got a tip from one of the other teachers about his strange behaviour and they thought the kid was still alive, but wasn't!" Mia suggested, heading up her drive with Letty in tow. "Or! He finally admitted he was cheating on his wife and she killed his mistress and her body is in a vat of chemicals in the science stockroom waiting to dissolve. Only the wife taddled to the police to save her own skin and pin it all on him and he's gone into a rage frenzy."

"No. More. Crime. Channel." Letty insisted with a laugh, stepping into the Toretto kitchen and meeting the wonderful smell of Bolognese.

"Alright, who've you framed for murder now?" Mr Toretto greeted the girls. "We talked about this." he laughed.

"Mr Johnson, the chemistry teacher, either murdered a student or his mistress." Letty offered.

"There was a police car and ambulance outside school today."

"Emergency services day?" Mr Toretto suggested innocently. "Maybe fire called in sick." he laughed with tease.

"None of you ever believe me!" Mia huffed. "There are so many cases of people being attacked in school."

"Yeah, I think between Letty and Dom, they've got that corner of the market covered." Mr Toretto laughed. "Thirsty?" he turned to the fridge pulling out a soda for each of them. Letty and Mia followed him into the kitchen. Letty paused as she caught glimpse into the living room though.

She'd avoided him for almost a week, but there was Dominic sat on the sofa, playing some video game, dressed in clean work clothes and obviously picking up a late shift. After he'd cleansed the virtual world of zombies though.

Letty could see the dark bruise on his cheek, it was healing, but slowly, the edges were still deep purple.

Guilt flourished and she absently took the soda Mia passed her, pulling out a smile.

"Letty," she turned back to Mia's father. "You working Saturday?" Mr T asked conversationally.

Letty's eyes blasted straight to the living room where even Dom had paused his button mashing in the video game. She turned back before they could meet eyes.

"Didn't Dom tell you? I quit." she stated nervously.

"Yes, he mentioned that. Are you coming in then?" he asked again, leaving Letty a little stumped.

"I… wasn't planning on it."

"Did you have something else you wanted to do this Saturday?" he pressed.

"No… but… I told Dom I quit."

"Well." Mr T scratched his nail over his chin. "My son is a lot of things…" Even the way Mr T said it, it sounded like he was implying all the negatives that flooded the girl's brains. "But he's not the one you hand you resignation into."

"I…"

"So, I figured we'd see how Saturday goes. Maybe you turn up and work as usual and you never had any conversation with my son. All I know for sure is that there will be a list of jobs on top of your overalls as usual for Saturday morning." Mr T smiled at her.

"I don't really see how that would work." Letty muttered, her eyes glancing to the living room again. Surely he wasn't expecting her to work with Dom in a civil manner.

"See how you feel." he grinned. "You staying for tea?"

"Spaghetti?" Letty asked, peering over into the pan of bubbling tomato sauce, homemade.

"Spag bol tonight, and I think I may have been a bit heavy handed with the sauce, so I do hope you'll help us eat it. I don't think Mia and I could manage it alone."

"Sure." Letty smiled. She hadn't had a meal that hadn't been cooked by her own hand in a week or so.

"Alright, run along and sort out your school crisis. I'm sure there's intense speculation and rumour spreading to be done."

Letty chased Mia up the stairs to her room as the conspiracies started afresh.

Mr T took that time to turn the pan to a simmer and walk himself into the living room, sitting down next to his son.

Dom paused his game, knowing full well his father was about to launch into some speech and he doubted he could keep his character alive against the zombie horde _and_ verbally battle his father at the same time.

"What?" Dom snapped after his father sat in silence.

"Oh nothing just wondering how many more bruises you want before you decide to grow up."

"Seriously? I didn't make her quit."

"You didn't drag the words from her, but you certainly put them in her head." Mr T debated.

"What would you rather me have done?" Dom challenged.

"Perhaps had some respect for her feelings, however fleeting you may believe them to be and talk to her like a human being?" Mr T rose an eyebrow as Dom grunted out a syllable. "Or do I need to remind you of a conversation we had about a year ago?" he taunted.

"I remember that conversation, and I remember your strict advice regarding that. I doubt that's changed."

"My advice never changes, but perhaps your interpretation of it has matured?"

"What?" Dom cast his eyes to the doorway of the stairs, not that he could see much. He could hear the music channel playing upstairs and presumed the big ears on teenage girls were distracted from his conversation. "You told me, and this is pretty much a near quote _'she's 15 and the only good friend Mia's had for a long time. Don't fuck it up'_."

"And I stand by my words. Or, your hacked paraphrasing of them." Mr T stood, his words no clearer. "Letty loves her work at the garage Dom, and she needs it to save for her car, so you _will_ fix this."

"How do you expect me to do that? She hates me."

"You're an adult now Dominic, you need to find you own ways out of the messes you make. But for the record; no she doesn't."

"She doesn't what?" Dom asked, his eyes following his father back to the stove, the gas turned back up.

"Smells good, doesn't it?" Mr T grinned to his son, a clear sign the conversation was over.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven; Breaking**

Friday afternoon came with dread, instead of the usual impatient anticipation. Letty was thinking about food shopping again, there was a pressing need. Despite her mothing being home long enough to watch a movie with her on Wednesday, the fridge was bare. It would be beans and stale crackers to eat it looked like. Letty suffered through the last period which mirrored the week before. The double lesson of last week was condensed into a single period and taught the students the opposite of what they learnt the previous week; ie; the other gender.

In this day and age, every teenager with access to the internet knew sex inside and out, Letty didn't understand why they needed to learn about erections and scrotums, or why the boys needed to know the location of the clitoris which they'd probably seen on porn a thousand times. But from the conversations as the hall emptied, you'd think that was all they had been taught.

Letty bid a quick goodbye to her friends in her year, however loose the term 'friends' was and started following the footsteps of the Friday previous, however she stopped short.

Dom.

Was he picking them up?

Would he bother after what happened?

More importantly, did Letty want him to?

Yes, she did. So she turned her feet back towards the bus stop and away from the temptation drawing her further into her 'obsession'.

Her face turned once more to a sour thunder and she text Mia for her location.

Mia had obviously polished her crystal ball and was already at the bus stop, waving erratically at Letty.

"Did you hear about Missy Stevens?" Mia began, dragging Letty into place in the line with her, cutting in and pissing off a few juniors.

"Who?"

"The queen bee of my year." Mia refreshed her memory. Letty had heard the title thrown around between Mia's verbal abuse before. "She's pregnant!"

"Is she?"

"Well, probably not, but either she's pregnant, or the 'new' diet is totally not working, she's like three sizes bigger since she came back from holiday." Mia was weaving the gossip mill once more. "I'm thinking she got knocked up and Daddy-dearest is finding her a new convent to attend school at or something."

"Or, she's put on holiday wei-" Letty dropped her sentence. The sounds she had once craved was once again filling her ears and warming her bones; Dom's car. The luxurious purr of the engine as it crept closer.

Letty's eyes naturally crashed straight to it. "I'm not getting in."

"Me neither." Mia huffed, crossing her arms on her chest and staring down at the driver.

Dom pulled up next to them, the sunglasses barely hiding the remnants of the battering his face had taken.

"Get in." he demanded, hard and allowing no fight.

Letty grabbed Mia's hand in solidarity when she automatically made to obey. Dom chuckled and dropped the sunglasses on his face. "Let me clear this up for you. You either get in, or I make you get in."

The students surrounding them were all staring at the event; new gossip was running on the scene, and they were the topic. "You make me put the handbrake on and I'm gunna be pissed." he offered, sickly sweet like only big brothers could do.

"Com'on." Mia huffed, dragging Letty with her as they scooted into the backseat together.

Dom didn't give them a chance to change their mind.

Neither said a word, just passed the silence looks and speculation between shoulder shrugs and stares.

Letty counted the traffic violations mentally as they came; the gas pedal that hit the floor at the amber light, the speed limit, the undertaking.

Dom was in a mood, and it wasn't a good one.

Letty couldn't help but recall the last time Dom had been in a mood, demanding her presence.

But what else could he tell her, she thought self depreciatively.

He'd already torn her apart.

There was nothing else he could do. Right?

Letty turned to Mia again who was slouching down, head rested in her hand as she drilled her eyes into her brothers skull. Letty nudged her softly and mouthed a 'why's he pissed?' to her pseudo sister. Mia picked it up, as she always would.

"PMS." Mia spoke loudly, kicking the back of her brother's seat.

It earned her a raised eyebrow and a poorly aimed slap at her legs.

Letty needed to find someone else, quickly. To do all of the things she wanted to do with Dom, and then, when it was out of her system, she wouldn't want it anymore.

But… it was Dom.

The guy that up shifted with a smooth slide that made her want his hands all over her. A man built for wrapping his arms around her, fingers trailing down her body.

"Out." Dom insisted as he pulled up sharp, bouncing both girls forwards in their belts. Letty grabbed the handle quickly. "Not you." he snapped and turned his finger to his sister. "Out." That was when Letty realised they were outside the Toretto household, breaking Friday order once more. Usually he kicked Letty out first.

Mia offered wide eyes but compliance and was standing on the driveway as Dom depressed the gas again, raising Letty's panic and blood pressure.

"Your mom working?" he asked, all gruff and short in temper. She followed his eyes as they turned onto her street.

"Yeah." She didn't dare anything else.

"Good." He slid the car into the drive like it was meant to be there and turned off the engine. Letty scrambled out of the car quicker than she thought possible, but Dom followed her to the door. "In the house, Letty."

Suspicion grew, but the last thing Letty needed was the nosey neighbours, it was bad enough they'd be seeing his car parked there.

Letty stepped in through the door she unlocked and Dom was quick to fill up the space with his large frame.

Letty figured he'd get to what he wanted sooner or later, she had a feeling it was to demand an apology. With his current attitude, he wasn't getting one, not that he deserved one.

Letty walked her way into the lounge, throwing her rucksack down in its usual position and dragged her homework from it.

Dom was silent in his movements, but Letty caught him walking past the lounge and to the kitchen.

Dom had no place being there.

Letty dropped the homework as quick as she'd picked it and chased him.

"I'm not going to apologise if that's what you want." she snapped when she caught him reading the shopping list on the counter.

"Your mother home yesterday?" he asked instead.

"Do you want to talk to her or something? Yell at her for raising a child that knows how to punch?"

"We need to talk." he changed the subject again, setting the list back down where he picked it from and dragging a long look around the kitchen as he walked into the living room; like he owned the place. Letty could do nothing but follow with boiling blood.

"About what?"

"You know damn well what it's about." His voice took on a gruff edge again, temper darkening.

"Fine. I'm sorry the ladies don't like your new bruise. It will heal." she snipped, shoving past him to grab her homework again, settling it on the coffee table. Anything so she wouldn't have to look into his hard eyes and feel the guilt.

"Your job." he stated coldly.

"I quit." she reminded him, the Toretto men had a bad habit of forgetting that it seemed.

"You need to un-quit." he demanded.

"Why?"

Dom crossed his arms on his chest, much like Mia had, only with this Toretto, it actually looked intimidating. His feet squared him out, much like he was readying himself for another punch.

She straightening up to stare at him, cold eyes raking over the discolouring she had caused on his face.

"What do you want, Dom?" she hissed.

"You'll be in work on Saturday and Sunday." he began again. "You can work with Vince if it bothers you to work with me that much."

"It doesn't _bother_ me. It's just…" but how would Dom understand, he'd never pined over anyone before.

"Letty, you need to find someone else." he grunted out, "Anyone else."

"For what?"

"You know damn well what I'm talking about."

"My _obsession_ right?" she mocked herself mercilessly. "Yeah, well I didn't choose to like you, you know." It was the first time she'd spoken the truth about her feelings to him and the very first time Dom truly heard the words honestly. "And I tried finding someone else, it didn't work out so well." Letty carried on, anger twisting higher again.

"Your choice of that brat from the 72's wasn't exactly a golden decision. He's a jerk." Yeah he was. "I could've told you that, if you'd said anything."

"Said anything?!" she repeated, stepping forward and watching him tense for the expected punch. "You were too busy sticking your tongue down any bitch's throat that was infront of you to pay attention to anything I had to say!" she fired off, the wriggle of sensible thought and action was gone. Anger unlocked the truth. Anger spilled feelings, emotions and… confessions.

For Dominic also.

"Damn it Letty, you can't have me! Don't you understand?!" Letty could see the rapid rise and fall of his chest, the way his biceps blocked out with containment.

"Trust me. I get it, you hate me, you think I'm just a child that you have to be nice to because I know your little sister. You think I just want to play with cars and crush on you. Well I don't want to, and I don't want to feel like this, but I do, and that's your fault. Because you don't want me, at all. Not even enough to fake it. Not even enough to look at me." Dom had turned his face from her eyes, but Letty wasn't having it. "So why not fully break my stupid heart, just man up and tell me to my face that you don't want me."

"I wish I didn't want you." he snapped, his eyes boring down into hers. "I wish I could forget you." he growled, his height suddenly seeming to swallow her whole. "I wish you'd move on and make this easier on me. How long can this possibly last, Letty?" but her name came out like a plea, a desperate broken man looking for redemption.

"What?" she whispered, scared of the moment she found herself in. Scared of the possibility of hope in the middle of her confusion.

"Fuck it." he rumbled and the moment broke. His hands were on her in the next second, one to her lower back, the other twisting her into him. And his lips, they crashed to her in an explosion of passion. Zero to 'holy jesus' in .6 of a second.

Letty felt her insides coil tight then shatter completely. This was it.

He gripped her tighter, fingers in the cotton of her uniform as her tasted her.

Her legs felt like jelly, her mind felt like it was floating and she was sure if he wasn't holding her, the fireworks inside her mind would have knocked her to the floor.

His tongue pressed to her, the taste of his mint chewing gum swimming her senses.

She felt giddy and sick; but in a way that she never wanted it to end.

She saw the hope behind the curtain and dared for more.

Her fingers finally found themselves wrapping around his bicep, his hot skin sizzling her fingertips. And for a moment, everything was how it should be, a melody of beauty and passion flowing from his lips to hers, a thousand fireworks firing one after each other.

All too soon, the show ended and he pulled back.

He held her straight for a second, her eyes opening to find him staring at her like a puzzle once more.

He took a breath and he broke contact entirely, stepping back.

"Not a word, Letty." he instructed. "I expect to see you at work Saturday." He grabbed the sunglasses where they were hooked onto his top and slid them back on heading for the door.

Letty found some strength in her weak knees to chase him.

"D-"

"This changes nothing, Letty." he answered hard and sharp. She stood in the doorway, watching as he dragged the car out of the drive and to work.

He wanted her.

He kissed her.

He _wanted_ her!

Letty showered and raced over to Mia's with partially dried hair, Mia was going to die when she told her.

Letty's heart had been stark raving mad over Dom since it laid eyes on his. Even when he was playing cowboy in his car, almost killing her, it was beating desperate for him.

Mia would no doubt have something to say about her brother being an asshole, but Letty _had_ to share this with someone. This was the biggest, best moment of Letty's young life.

Letty's feet were fast through the door of the Toretto household, barely greeting Mr T with a raised hand as he spoke on the phone. She strode up two steps at a time and was almost bowled over as Mia rampaged from her room and thundered her fist on her brother's door.

Letty stopped on the top stair and hesitantly followed Mia's lead, leaning against the wall and reading her body language as she yelled through the door.

"Damn it Dom, give me back my straighteners!" Mia snarled.

There was no answer to the demand.

"What happened?" Letty asked, the instant need to tell Mia what had happened dropping. She'd probably earn nothing positive back with Mia's current opinion of her brother.

"Dom thinks I'm a slut!" Mia yelled through the door at her brother, the intent clear.

"You don't need this crap." Dom's reply came back from within the room.

"Just because you'll sleep with anything with a pulse, it doesn't mean your sister can't look pretty!" Mia snapped, hand hammering on the door. "I swear to god, if you make me come into your whore den of a room I'll scream this house down."

"KIDS!" Mr T appeared at the bottom of the stairs, his hand over the bottom of the phone as his voice reverberated the entire house. "I'm on the phone, sort it out between yourselves. But quietly."

But the words only encouraged Mia to take more action, her hand twisted the door open and she forced entry. Letty was frozen on the landing, unable to put herself in the sibling fight.

"Are you serious?! I HATE you!" Mia's voice screamed.

"You're too young for this." Dom's voice came back as something cracked and broke.

"Oh my god, I hope you crash and die." Mia huffed out of the bedroom and back to her own the straighteners in her grasp, strangled by her grip. Letty followed quickly.

Now was not the time for her good news.

"What broke?" But Letty found her answer as she saw Mia's room. Dom had obviously taken all make-up from Mia's room along with the straighteners from the wall.

"He snapped my palettes and pens." she huffed but knelt down before the bed, stretching her arms under it. Then she froze and turned to Letty, "What did he say to you?"

"He… umm, he said I wasn't allowed to quit work." In a way. "Why?"

"He didn't say anything about you liking him?"

"Why?" Letty asked again, her red face hidden as Mia reached further under the bed.

"Dom finally released I'm not a little girl it seemed. He seems convinced I'm going to run away with some older guy that I'm going to fall madly in love with." Mia finally turned to her. "I figured he'd had some revelation about you. Or yelled at you about being too young or something."

Letty just shrugged, sitting down on the floor with Mia.

"What are you looking for?"

"My brother is an ass, but I'm brilliant." And with a successful 'ah' Mia emerged from the bed with a black box. She opened the lid to show the saved box of make-up, none of which was cheap. "What?" she mocked Letty's shocked expression, "Like I'm going to keep my good make-up where my brother knows about. Besides, these were expensive." Even Letty recognised some of the brand names. "You still want to try again tonight?" Mia asked in a whisper.

"I don't think so." Letty spoke honestly. Not when she knew Dom felt something to her. She met Mia's questioning gaze. "We'll see how it goes?" she tried again.

"You having second thoughts about losing it?" Mia sat cross-legged with Letty, the make-up between them.

"No. I'm ready." She'd give anything for Dom to be with her like that. And now there was a chance. "There just wasn't a lot of nice guys last time and I don't want another _Dune_."

"Harriet Gurden said it was so painful she couldn't stand more than a second. She said they stopped."

"It's okay to not want it yet, Mia." Letty offered the comfort Mia's worried face told her she needed.

"I want to. I just don't want to be bad for him. What if I start crying or something totally embarrassing?"

"So wait." Letty insisted.

"Promise you'll tell me what it's like." Mia asked, pinky finger extended for a secure promise. Letty wrapped her pinky around Mia's and they shook, sealing the agreement for life.

But the words revolved around Letty's brain with a rattle. What if she was bad for him?

Dom had had girls galore, he'd had one of every size all eager and willing to please and given him no more than a minor grunt at best. He grabbed females from all walks of life for his pleasures, ones experienced in ways Letty was not.

If the stars aligned to even bring Letty into Dom's lap, what if she couldn't make him happy. She had no experience, no skills, no body to compare to those he took on a daily basis.

"So, I'm thinking classy dress." Mia began again, pulling out a palette of light coloured eyeshadows. "Something day dress but playful if needed?" Mia offered.

Letty just shrugged, this wasn't her area of knowledge but it sounded perfect. Nothing too sexy like she was trying to attract attention, but just pretty enough that Dom would keep his eyes on her all night.

Mia took a shrug as acceptance and stood to pull a knee length blue dress out of the closet after a minute of hunting. "This?" Mia held the dress to her body. It had a cut out on the back and fancy criss-cross straps that made it look sexy as hell. But, the large purple flowers adorning the fabric gave it a fancy edge that said it belonged in high class society, flirting over high tea.

"Looks expensive." Letty commented, but stood as well, sizing the dress up to herself as the coat hanger changed hands.

"It wasn't thanks to a tear in the skirt that needed repairing, but once upon a time, this was probably worth more than what Dom won last week."

"Jesus." Letty breathed out. "You sure you're okay with me wearing it?"

"Absolutely." Mia smiled. "Because I'm still allowed to do your hair, right?"

"Fine, but something like last week?"

"Oh, com'on, I had a new idea I wanted to try!" Mia protested weakly. "Unless! I can half and half, half braid, half down?"

Letty sighed and paid the price for the dress with potential pain of the scalp.


	8. Chapter 8

They kissed!

I just love that scene, in my head it's such a build up and fangirl squeal from that moment.

I am glad we seemed to like it; thank you for the reviews :)

* * *

 **Chapter Eight; Racing feelings**

The girls situated themselves in their usual spot, Mia was currently in a huff and had dropped her pretence of Alex being perfect.

"I don't get it, why is this an issue?"

"Because it's a pit of hormones here?" Letty joked.

"But I'm not doing anything, where is the trust?!" Mia huffed out.

Alex had asked Mia's plans and the call of the races had filled him with male jealousy. Worse, Mia insisted Alex couldn't come with her because her brother was there.

Added together, it had led to an argument and Mia was currently ignoring the buzzing on her phone, letting it vibrate with texts as she leaned on the railings and sighed heavily as she people watched and eavesdropped.

"Men." Letty offered supportively. "All jackass'"

"I thought he was perfect."

"If he were perfect, you'd have met him here, he'd have beaten Dom in a race and he'd have swept you off your feet."

"Can I tell you a secret?" Mia whispered, her eyes turned to Letty filled with burden. "He doesn't even like the races. He thinks they're just testosterone shows for idiots."

"He's not entirely wrong." Letty commented, both of their eyes going to the ruckus as two males fought below them over the same girl.

"But Letty, he doesn't like it!" Mia stressed. "How can I date someone that doesn't even speak car? My dad would have nothing to talk about with him if I ever could bring him home. Dom would insist I never speak to him again. I thought you'd understand that most."

"I never thought I'd be the one supporting Alex." But something about the haze of her kiss was still cheering for love, in whatever form it came. "But, if you ignored the fact he's an idiot who knows nothing about cars, he's still perfect right?"

"But, all this stupid stuff about me going to the races, Letty."

"You mean the pig-headed male jealousness of him going asshole at thought of you being stolen away by another man?" Letty rephrased and Mia softened a little. "Can't exactly blame him."

"Still, there are better ways to say it." Mia sighed. "But I suppose I could forgive him when he apologises."

"Way to be a bigger person, Mi." Letty laughed, wrapping an arm around Mia's shoulders in sisterly solidarity.

"Why are you so happy today anyway?"

"It's Friday." Letty answered, hoping it would cover everything.

"Have you decided if you are going into work tomorrow?"

"Yeah. I think I am." Letty mused, watching as Dom's car finally arrived to the track. Vince had brought them tonight, told them Dom had late close up.

Letty smiled to herself, peaceful in her thoughts as Dom stepped out of the Supra, rising to his tall height in dark combat pants and a black wifebeater top. The black motorcycle jacket pulled on slowly. He walked like he owned the world. Each step more confident than the last. He shrugged the leather up twice and rolled his shoulders into the comfort. Letty drank a deep breath of air, if she were closer, she could smell his cologne, wrap her fingers around the silver cross that danced against his pecs with each stride. He could tug her to him once more, press his hot lips to hers and steal all sense and reason once more.

Dom was in a league of his own.

Women worshipped him, men wanted to be him. A path cleared for him like he was a god walking amongst men.

Mia's elbow nudged into her ribs and called Letty's attention to the women talking within earshot.

"They've for a point, don't you think." Mia spoke, a slight wonder in her eyes.

"Hm?" Letty tore her attention away from Dom.

"You weren't listening?" Mia redundantly asked, but looked up to see her brother had arrived; that explained why. Letty's brain turned to mush around her stupid brother. Her brother didn't deserve someone as good as Letty to like him.

"Sorry." Letty replied. "What point?"

"The girls." Mia began again. "They were saying men are like cars."

Letty screwed up a face as she considered the point. "Okay, so, what's the first thing you notice about a man?" Mia asked.

"I dunno… appearance?" Letty offered, unsure where Mia was going with this.

"And for cars; the bodywork." Mia supplied. "It's what attracts you to the car, invited you to look under the hood and check what it's running with."

"Personality." Letty smiled as she picked up the metaphor successfully.

"Exactly. Sometimes, there's a beautiful car, polished to perfection, even pretty decals-"

"Tattoos." Letty guessed with a grin.

"But, the engine doesn't do it justice, the gearbox sticks on the upshift and the breaks squeal." Mia continued with a laugh. "Other times, there's a scuffy car that has the best engine known to man, the most comfortable seats, 0-60 in record breaking time."

"I get it Mia." letty laughed. "Ugly men can have nice personalities and handsome guys can be dicks."

"But it's not just personality." Mia spoke, eyebrows wiggling. "It's the size of the _equipment_."

"What's under the hood." Letty continued with a wink and a giggle.

"And, and!" Mia's mood was lifting out of the gloom with each addendum to the metaphor. "It's the driver of the car. He might have the 'equipment' but if he doesn't know how to handle the curves he's useless."

"Nobody likes a man that can't drive." Letty agreed, giggling with Mia as they rocked with laugher.

Finally giving their belly muscles a rest, Mia reached into her bag for her phone.

"I suppose I should let him know I'm not running away with a bad driver." Mia's eyes were soft, her lips curving to a smile. She really did like this guy.

Letty turned her eyes back to the floor show where Dom was shaking hands with Hector again, no doubt agreeing to another race.

Maybe he'd want a good luck kiss?

Letty flashed a look to Mia but the latest ping to her phone had her full attention claimed.

"I'm gunna go take a look at the cars. I'll be back." Letty informed her.

"Okay. Text me if you see anything worth my time." Mia answered back.

Letty led herself through the pit of horny women and desperate racer-wannabes. She battled stray handbags and overpowered cologne to make her tracks to Dom's ride. Instead, she found Hector sitting his ass on the hood, taking bets.

Maybe he wanted to keep them completely under wraps, maybe he was off in an alley looking for somewhere _private_.

Letty's heart skipped with excitement and she turned herself down what she had dubbed 'make-out alley', Dom had taken many girls down there before, she used to be able to just catch him from where she sat. The woman would always be against the wall, out of Letty's view and her mind would easily slip her into their place.

Today, maybe it would be a real life first hand experience.

She twisted the corner only to find it empty.

She turned, hunting the black leather jacket he wore.

She found it.

She found it over the shoulders of a redhead in a halterneck top, mini skirt and green thong.

How did she know it was a green thong? Because Dom's hands were on her ass cheeks as she straddled him against Vince's Maxima.

Her heart dropped.

He didn't care.

Perhaps he never did.

Perhaps he kissed her so she would come back to work.

Perhaps he lied straight to her face

Letty wanted to rip the redhead from him, take his jacket as a cloak of pride and demand his heart on a platter. But Letty knew how that would end. He'd lie, then lie some more and walk away with her heart in his hand somehow.

He always had her heart in his hand; he just didn't care how tightly he strangled it.

Letty spun on her feet, disappearing into 'make-out alley' and catching herself on the person she'd just nearly bowled over. He caught her deftly.

He was one of Hector's cousin.

He had tattoos all over his body.

"Y' alright?" he asked, one hand stabilising her, the knuckles reading 'drug', Letty would imagine the other hand was to spell something along the line of 'life' or '4eva' something cliché and predictable for the prison-bound rebel. "Hey, you alright?" he repeated, slow; as if he was talking to someone of low intelligence.

"Sorry." she spoke, stepping back.

He took a second to run his eyes up and down her, establishing she wasn't as vacant as her blind sense of direction had been.

"Ain't no worry mamacita. What you doing all alone tonight?"

"Nothing." But as he stroked his hand against his goatee, Letty found a plot twist she hadn't expected. 'Free' the other knuckle read. Drug Free; written on the knuckles of the Mexican covered in tattoos of skulls, crosses and weapons.

She could have laughed; had her heart not been so tattered.

"Wanna be doing something?" he offered, an eyebrow wiggle that was intended to be 100% comical did the job of cheering her up and making her laugh. "You look nice." he complimented, eyes on the dress, lingering just a little longer on the flare of her hips, the curve of her waist. "Too nice to be here all night."

And Letty found herself pushed into her solution to heart break. Was Mr Drug Free the answer life had literally thrown her into the arms of? "I get it, it's okay kid." he spoke again, moving around her. Letty acted without thinking, putting her fingers to one of his arms.

"I'm not a kid." she spoke softly, feeling entirely out of it.

Dom didn't want her.

Letty wanted somebody, anybody to want her. This guy; he was salvation.

Salvation that would rid her mind from wanting Dom ever again.

"No?" he questioned quietly, stepping back to her, his eyes once again running her body, lingering on her lips. "You sure 'bout that?"

"Want me to prove it?" she fired out, perhaps a little too fierce due to the recent wound of her childlike-obsession which had just been newly ripped open.

"You got an idea how, chica?" he teased, running his fingers along her arms, resting on her shoulder before curling her into his arm with ease.

"Yeah. You got a backseat?"

There was one thing a child didn't do, and that was give over her virginity to a stranger in the backseat of a car at an illegal street race.

Tonight would make Letty a woman through and through.

* * *

"It'll be a breeze." Vince snorted, hanging in Dom's window as he waited for the others to line their cars up. "Short stuff's got an issue with ego. The Nissan's tyres are shot and the other guy doesn't even know who you are; he's screwed."

"Easy money." Dom agreed, rubbing his hands on the steering wheel in an almost caress.

"Don't forget who your friend's are." Vince grunted, slapping his best friend on the shoulder as he stood again.

"Hey, you brought the girls right?" Dom asked, his head stuck out the window and calling the man back.

"Yeah, they ain't dressed for too much trouble tonight." Vince conceded, he refused to bring them when they were dressed like the girls at the races. It didn't suit Mia at all, she was too beautiful to need those kinds of dresses; different kind of beauty.

"Where's Letty?" Dom asked, his eyes already finding his sister, but not the other trouble maker.

Vince turned his head to the fire escape where only one pair of legs dangled.

"She'll be around." Vince swore.

"Make sure she's not stirring up trouble." Dom asked, settling back into his seat and into race mode. Vince lined himself up with the all-seeing eyes of the master of bets.

It was halfway through his subtle interrogation of Hector when Vince caught the tail end of the blue dress whipping out of sight far from the race. He followed it on instinct, pushing through the crowd as the race started and following the direction the heels had taken on the concrete.

He thought he'd lost them until he heard the car door shut. He turned to the line of cars, most parked while their owners cheered wildly in his ears. One though, had shadows moving in the backseat.

Hector's piece of shit Peugeot.

Which didn't add up with Hector being 20 feet away.

Vince clicked his head back up to Mia, checking at least one was where she was supposed to be. But even Mia was scouting the crowds for her bad influence.

Vince headed to the car, all it took was one glance through the badly home-tinted windows for him to be ripping the car door open and dragging the punk kid out by his shirt.

"What the fuck, man?" The punk demanded, flailing as he tried to shove his dick back in his jeans and fight off Vince at the same time.

"That's my question. She's 16." Vince growled.

"Fuck." The Mexican swore, dropping all fight and glaring back at the girl in his backseat. "Jesus, swear to god man, I didn't touch her like that."

Vince let the fool scamper off.

Letty was pulling the skirt back down to cover her panties and Vince turned away.

"What the hell, Letty? Did you even know that guy?" Vince asked staring straight ahead at the wall. He heard the sound of a dress zipper being pulled back up and deemed it safe to look again.

"What do you care?" she bit out, pushing past his shoulder and out of the car.

Vince rubbed circles into his forehead.

He wasn't going to fucking tell Dom. He didn't want a fist to the face.

As it turned out, he didn't need to. Hector had been drawn to the attention around his car and caught his cousin for what Vince could only imagine was a hell of a grilling in their language.

Vince removed himself from the area.

Hector would tell Dom; Hector didn't do secrets.

Vince wasn't being in the blast radius.

Letty found Mia quickly and influenced the quick decision to go home and miss the party. They grabbed Jesse for a ride home and on Mia's bottom bunk, Letty told the story about Hector's backseat.

"Oh my god." Mia whispered in reverence, "I can't believe you were going to do it."

"Vince is going to tell Dom." Letty muttered. "He'll probably tell the others to stop taking us to the races."

"So we get a ride with someone else." And for Mia it was the simplest solution that was the best. "I just can't believe it. What was it like? I mean before Vince caught you. Oh my, did Vince see anything?"

"I think he was more interested in the guy to notice."

"How far did you get? Were you naked?"

"No." Letty instantly answered, she'd be embarrassed to death if Vince had seen her naked. "No, he'd unzipped my dress and his lips were on my chest, but it wasn't anything more than a bit of groping."

"Nothing happened?"

"I…" Letty wondered how much to share, she didn't want Mia to feel rushed to do anything when she wasn't ready, but… she had pinky swore to share. "He was… hard, and he let me touch it."

"Oh my god." Mia flushed bright red. "What was it like?!" Mia squealed.

"Warm… kinda soft and yet not. Like soft pasta wrapped around a metal rod."

"Soft pasta?"

"I don't know, it was silky, but fleshy too." Letty failed with description and buried her head in her hands; there was a reason she didn't excel at writing English papers.

"Was it... nice? Or was it icky?" Mia probed.

"It was… odd." Letty couldn't find the words again.

"Oh my god." Mia repeated slowly. "I can't believe you were going to go all the way with him."

Letty bit her lip. Honestly, she wasn't even sure of that herself. "What changed your mind from earlier?"

For that question, Letty could be 100% honest.

"Dom." she whispered. "He's never going to want me, or like me. I could have been happy with someone else, but instead I saved every first for him."

"…And now you're getting rid of them." Mia finished, reading her mind.

"Yeah." Letty agreed sombrely. Her heart was in tatters, it barely put up a protesting thud as she laid in the backseat with another man.

"I'm so sorry, Letty." Mia's arms came around her, the softness of her pyjamas smoothing out the goosebumps on her arms.

For Letty, nobody could ever compare to how much she loved Dom; he was the whole package. He had the bodywork, the engine, and drove the hardest and fastest. He was the sportscar package.

But he came with a hefty price tag.

Nobody could compare to how much Dom could hurt her either.

"If I could." Mia began. "I would trade anything so you didn't feel like this." Mia meant it to. "I'd give my straighteners, my make-up, my clothes, even my room. I'd let you have Alex if you wanted him."

"You guys didn't fix things?" Letty asked. Mia wouldn't sacrifice her perfect man.

"No, we did. We're perfect again. But if giving him up would make you happy I'd give him up for you."

"Not necessary." Letty managed to laugh at the drama Mia was narrating. "He's all yours."

"Good, because I like him a lot, Letty."

* * *

Letty walked to the garage as if to expect the firing squad. But Dom's Supra was missing and hadn't been parked on the Toretto driveway either. She hadn't even heard him return home with his latest lady luck either.

She scouted the garage as she pulled the overalls past her trainers.

No sign of Dom.

Vince had clocked her but had turned back to what he was doing without any verbal acknowledgement.

It wasn't until Letty came back from a Mia update at lunch that she caught the tail end of Dom as he took the truck out.

He didn't even seem to see her, never mind scream murder at her.

Leon shrugged when she asked, just said he had volunteered for a part run and Vince was doing books today.

Letty had kept to herself entirely.

But when Dom was still half hungover on Sunday and had locked himself in the office to correct all of Vince's math errors from his attempts at the books, Letty didn't know how to feel.

Did he not even care enough to yell at her?

Letty felt like a ghost of herself, whenever she thought she'd found her footing with her feelings to him, he slipped the entire floor from her.

Was it all in her head? Was she stupid to believe he would care at all?

Letty finished Sunday afternoon and Dom had still to leave the office; he was hunched over the paperwork like it was draining his lifeline. Vince hadn't said a word to her and when she had asked Leon for help he'd been beyond awkward.

Letty shrugged on the backpack to walk home, but the emptiness of her home wasn't inviting at all.

She took a detour instead, past the one place she could embrace the loneliness, confusion and heartbreak.

* * *

Jesse sang loud and not-at-all proud to the Motorhead CD in the tow truck. What was meant to be a tow back to the garage had been a damsel in distress over-exaggeration and a road-side fix. She was damn thankful though, scored him digits across his palm. Apparently he'd saved her 'like literal life' by ensuring she could continue her drive to meet her girlfriends for cocktails.

He wasn't going to call her; she wasn't anything close to his type. But, it would be nice to get a little respect from the guys.

He belted out a selection of grunts to a guitar riff that couldn't be ignored, tapping the wheel at the red light like he could drum right along with the record.

It was on his imaginary cymbal crash that he spotted the familiar figure sat on the wall of the parking lot of the supermarket chain.

He flipped on the indicator and pulled into the lot as the light changed green.

This neighbourhood was hardly safe anymore; it used to be a thriving business, he remembered his dad taking him to an autoshop that used to be here when he was a kid. He remembered getting a beating when he'd accidentally chosen the wrong engine oil upon misreading his father's handwriting whilst said father grumbled about being unable to haggle the price down.

Nowadays, there were gang tags all over the neighbourhood, iron bars over windows and mace in the handbags of old ladies.

"Need a ride?" he called out the window, his fingers turning down the Motorhead.

"Jesse, what are you doing here?" Letty couldn't look more shocked and surprised to see him. He could say the same.

"Got a call for a tow that fell through." he answered, leaning out of the window to see her stand, but make no movement to get in the truck.

"Oh. Alright. I'll let you get back." Letty smiled.

Jesse turned off the truck without bothering to park it and hung his arm out of the truck in the heat.

"Why you out here, Let?"

He watched her turned back to him, her teeth chewing her lip, her eyes darting to the store a few times.

"It didn't used to be a supermarket." Letty just offered.

"Yeah. Used to be… I don't remember the name, but it sold autocare."

"Yeah." Letty ran her hand through her hair, letting the tangles remain when her fingers were halted. Her concentration was on the sunburnt oval on the brickwork that used to be the shop board before. "The greasy screw."

"Yeah!" Jesse exclaimed as the memory hit him. "You been before?" he asked, though she would have only been young when she did.

"It used to be my dad's." she finally turned to look at Jesse and he saw the weight of loss that hung over her.

"Yeah?" Jesse prompted. He knew Letty had been a gearhead since a child and he knew her father had died for his country, but she rarely spoke about it, all his information was secondhand at best.

Letty shuffled her feet but grabbed her backpack from the ground. Jesse just inclined his head to the spare seat and she rounded the bonnet to join him.

"Can you drop me off at home?"

"Sure thing." Jesse agreed, starting the engine again.

Letty offered no conversation as they pulled out into traffic but Jesse had far too much social anxiety to sit in silence. "So, ummm, how'd he lose the shop?"

"Gangs." Letty oversimplified. Her mother had always cursed this neighbourhood so she'd heard the story more than a few times. "They kept breaking in… he couldn't afford to keep it." Which had led to the financial problems and the need for a new career in a dying market. He'd joined the forces for a paycheck to support his wife and daughter. "He was only going to enlist for a year…" but a year had turned to two, two turned to three and her dad had become less of a table presence and more of a special occasion.

She remembered her mother insisting she dress up nice for when he came back, and then she remembered the argument the morning before he'd leave again. Her mother crying on the sofa as she realised she was alone again. Another calendar being ripped down before a new one would replace it with a giant red circle around a new date that was always too far in the future.

"Not a great neighbourhood to be spending time mourning Letty."

"I know." But it didn't stop her coming back.

Her mother liked to tell her her father was quitting the forces the year he was killed. Letty would never know if that was her mother's wishful thinking or if her father had actually agreed, but she did know how much he loved that shop. She remembered sitting on the counter and swinging her legs as customers would pour in.

For Letty, she knew more of her father in this shop than in his dog tags.

Perhaps, as her mother often cursed, if the gangs hadn't moved in, her father wouldn't be where he was today.

"If you do though…" Jesse began. "If you wanna come… I'll come with ya."

"Thanks Jesse." Letty replied, sincere.

Jesse found the silence far less awkward after that, especially when Letty cranked up the volume of the CD.

It wasn't until he pulled onto her road he came across a conundrum.

"Thought your mother was home on Sundays."

"She probably is. Just, gone to the store or something." she lied, quickly reaching for the door handle. "Thanks for the lift."

But Jesse could heard the tone of the lie. He recognised it from all the time he 'tripped' or 'fell on the stairs' at home.

"Call the shop if you need anything, Letty." Jesse insisted as she fled quickly down the walkway. He was met with a waving hand, but something definitely wasn't right.

* * *

Don't growl at me. I'll post another chapter soon and we'll try to sort Dom out.


	9. Chapter 9

Happy Friday all, you have left me some wonderful reviews. I want to thank you for the time you had taken for writing each one. I do so much love reading them and you do raise very valid points.

Boy oh boy, it's a good job I pre-warned about the 'high school female drama' or I feel I may have lost a few of you in the last chapter. It shall continue for a while, bear with me please.

Yes, Letty does need to value herself more, so much more. But as may know from experience, this can be a long road to feeling as kick-ass as you truly are.

Yes, reviewer named Shannon reminds us all that there is the age difference, which yes, is ILLEGAL and can get Dom in a boatload of trouble, which Letty should totally understand and she HAS just had the talk about sexual health at school too, she really should not just be throwing her v-card around with anybody. But alas, try telling that to teenage girls. Oy vey!

White Angel 02, yes, in the movies Dom does the chasing, you can see the dynamics are far from where this story is. Letty is quite careless and dominant in the movie relationship, Dom seems to be the strong peacekeeper (well that's how I see it), but, have you ever wondered _how_ they got there? *Dramatic music*

* * *

 **Chapter Nine; Called Out**

By the time Monday morning rolled around, Letty's mood swings had hit a violent culmination. Anxiety was brewing in her stomach enough to make her sick, not that her packed lunch had been hefty considering the bare state of the fridge, and her hair-trigger temper had sparked trouble.

It was no surprise to Letty when she found herself dragged into the principal's office at lunchtime. Mia had followed the teacher all the way to the office but had been forced to wait outside. Letty could hear her protests as she sat on the familiar leather chair.

"Leticia Ortiz, back again are we?" The principal greeted, his eyes still on his laptop as his hands dragged the first aid box from atop the file cabinet to pass to the girl. "Guess you better start from the beginning." he invited, his fingers arched to a temple on the laptop cover as he closed it.

"Wasn't my fault."

"It never is." If he wasn't a professional, Letty would have swore she saw him roll his eyes. He had no doubt heard the line a million times before but this time, it was the truth.

"She started it." Letty defended. "I didn't even throw the first punch." Well, technically she did, because Maddison couldn't punch for shit. There wouldn't even be a red mark or bruise on Letty. Same couldn't be said for Maddison.

"She, being…?" he looked down at the teachers report that had been slammed on his desk as Letty had followed it in. "Maddison Ann Woods." Letty nodded. "And what did Miss Woods do to earn a bloody nose, Miss Ortiz?" He pushed the first aid kid closer and Letty took the invitation to do her own doctoring, again. The school nurse had a thing about treating Letty after she'd told her she wasn't doing it right, and her mother was a real nurse. It hurt her ego it seemed.

"She's spreading rumours." Letty summarised. "I told her to shut her fat gob. She told me I was a dirty skank. I told her what happened to the last person that insulted me." The principal knew the incident well; it had led to a 2 day suspension. "She took my observation as a threat and punched me, I defended myself."

"And yet you walk away with a few scrapes whilst she has a broken nose and multiple bruises?"

"I defended myself well?" Letty offered, taking the alcohol wipes over her knuckles and knees as she rolled up her trousers on the other side of the table. She'd need some new ones. Again. Her mother was going to kill her. "Miss Turner saw the whole thing, you can ask her."

"I feel I shall." he agreed sombrely. "What happened Letty? We were doing so well recently."

"She started it." Letty repeated, declining the plasters and cotton bandage he passed over.

"What did she say to cause such a reaction?" he probed.

Letty cast her eyes down.

"She said I was a slut and sleeping with anyone I saw." The Principle narrowed his eyes, waiting for the punchline that triggered his regular visitor. "She said it was why my mother worked nights; because it was the family business." And there it was. Any attack to family was crossing the line for Letty.

The 2 day suspension had started from an opinionated lad insisting her father wasn't a war hero but a loser that tripped on an IUD. He'd gone to the hospital with fractured ribs. Letty had been suspended until the real reason for the fight had been established. And he had been inundated with paperwork from it.

"Letty." he began, but what could he say. The girl had a temper and a strong sense of family. "You need to learn to ignore other people's opinions."

"How can I when they shove them in my face?!" she challenged.

"We've had this conversation before and my answer never changes. I cannot condone violence as a method to sort out disagreements." He rounded the desk but then stopped. "We've had a conversation about school regulations before too, haven't we Miss Ortiz." Letty looked up and found his gaze on the black trainers she wore. "Those are not the black school shoes of the dress code."

Letty hid her feet under the chair.

"My mum hasn't got around to buying some more yet." And the fighter in his office had suddenly lost all confidence, her head dropping.

He had a file on Letty brimming with suggestions of parental neglect, but every time it was mentioned by the councillor, Letty denied it all. They couldn't proceed without some kind of hard evidence or admittance.

"Try to remind her. It's school policy, Miss Ortiz." He waved to say he was finished with her, but caught sight of the rips on her knees as she stood. "You'll need new trousers as well." he advised softly. She nodded and apologised before stepping out of his office.

By the time the bell rang for the end of the day, Letty had a note in her rucksack with the new items she would need to adhere to school dress code. She also had a detention booked for Friday after school, although Miss Turner had stated Maddison had started the fight, Letty and Maddison both had detention for fighting on school grounds.

* * *

Friday detention was as good an excuse as any to avoid the offered Toretto ride home. Maddison had sat on the other side of the library to her and they had spent the 30 minutes in complete silence. It was as she was leaving to the bus stop that Maddison decided to break the silence.

"Everybody knows, you know?"

"Knows what?"

"You're giving it to anyone and everyone." Maddison stopped in front of Letty, her prada too-tiny-to-ever-be-practical rucksack slid carefully onto each shoulder. "Half the boys at school have already said they've slept with you so I wouldn't both denying it."

"I haven-"

"Save your slut excuses for someone who cares." Blonde hair was flipped over a shoulder as she pulled the mobile phone from her pocket. "You really thought you were the only person in school that chased cars all weekend." Maddison's voice was full of distain, even looking down her bruised nose at Letty as she turned the mobile to her, showing a very clear photo of Letty held against Hector's ride, her latest failure with his hands on her ass under the dress, lips on her neck as she had her head thrown back. "Shame." Maddison spoke, the phone returned to its pocket. "For such a nice dress, you'd think the wearer would have better taste." Letty felt the drip drop of anger begin in her head.

Of course, that's when the teacher from detention stepped outside and immediately pinned the two girls in his gaze. He didn't need to speak a word for the girls to part.

He'd saved Letty another detention at least.

Her mother still hadn't mentioned about this one. Though, considering her mother, she'd probably seen the message from the school and deleted it straight off. Either that, or it was on her list of things to do and was sitting right at the bottom.

Letty had more important things to do too. Starting with a text to Mia.

 _There's a photo of me last Friday going around school._

The reply came as she took a seat on the bus, then an immediate second as she was shoving her bus pass back down into the recesses of the bag, between maths homework and the English practice paper Mrs Sanchez was insisting they try.

 _Are you serious? Doing what?_

 _Found it. It's hot._

At least this explained the strange looks she was getting from the boys at school she thought she got along with.

 _I'm the school slut and I haven't even lost it. Everyone just thinks I have!_

The reply was near instantaneous.

 _I don't think everybody thinks that._

But Mia's comfort fell short. Letty knew more than she cared to.

 _Half the boys at school are claiming to have slept with me!_

Letty huffed and bit her fingernails as the bus stopped for the old lady with the shopping. Letty picked herself up from the front seats and took one further at the back. Letty knew how heavy the shopping was when you were trying to do it all on the bus. She had every sympathy for the woman.

 _Half the boys at school probably_ _ **have**_ _slept with Maddison._

Letty smiled at the text. It was probably closer to the truth than the current gossip about her. As unfair as it was, there was little Letty could do to change it. If anything it would possibly be good for her, the other guys at school had been potential candidates for a long time, the only probably was that she measured them against the god scale she held for Dom, naturally they all fell short.

Letty's phone vibrated in her hand again, another Mia edit:

 _If you wanna try again, I have the_ _ **perfect**_ _dress for you tonight. You will look even hotter than that picture. We can stay and watch movies though, if that's better._

Letty tossed the thought in her mind, but the more she thought, the more solid she seemed to get on the decision that she wanted to be virginal no more. School thought she wasn't. It didn't change the world, but it definitely made Dom look a whole lot smaller to her, this bigger issue had swallowed him.

Letty turned her head out the window out of more habit that desire; this was where the bus line joined with Dom's path to the garage. As part of his agreement with his father, he picked Mia up from school on Fridays and then returned back to the garage (if necessary, she'd known him pawn work off on Vince if it was slow). Her eyes searched the road, looking for his car or the tow truck.

She hated herself as she realised what she had done. Who was she kidding, Dom was buried deep into her roots.

The only way out; was forward.

 _Races._

Was all Letty text back, no doubt earning a squeal as her phone was vibrated by lots of Instagram pictures of hair and make-up styles that Mia had obviously been holding back.

When Letty bounded into the Toretto family house, speeding past Mr T and his routine overnight bag pack, she expected to find Mia with a soggy phone in a bag of rice. After all, it was very strange when Letty's texts had gone unanswered; the only explanation was dead phone from another slip into the sink or puddles.

Instead, she found Mia in a grump, sat on the bed, taking apart the knots in the slim necklace chain.

It was the silence and the dark mood that gripped her that alerted Letty.

"What happened? I've been texting you for the last 10 minutes." Mostly about what she didn't want Mia to do to her hair after all the examples finished flooding in.

"He took my phone." Mia meekly admitted. Her eyes glaring at the bedroom wall that separated the siblings before returning to the task at hand.

"Why?"

"He thinks I'm talking to some boy." Mia huffed, setting the knotted necklace forcefully to the bedding.

"…You are." Letty unnecessarily pointed out, sitting next to Mia. "How come you're not chained in the basement?" Somehow, no matter how many times Mia changed a password, Dom always knew it. Which would mean Dom should be reading all the NC-17 things Mia and Alex had been texting. Which _should_ mean Mia was forbidden from leaving the basement for eternity.

"I hit delete on the conversation." Mia announced sadly. "And he knows I deleted something, and he's keeping the phone until he figures out what." Mia grabbed the necklace again, her fingernails scratching at the knot. "I had some really cute texts from him Letty. I really wanted to save them."

"Mi… what if he texts you while Dom has your phone?" Letty asked.

She watched Mia's eyes blow wide, the surprise that Mia hadn't already considered this alarming even to Letty.

"I need my phone back." The necklace was forgotten again, Mia entered planning mode like her second skin. "I need a lie. I was talking to another girl." she tried. "I was flirting with another girl?" she though. "I was sorting out a study group."

"No reason to delete them though." Letty pointed out.

"I'm doomed." Mia dropped her head into her hands. Letty just blinked, stunned that Mia's impeccable thought process had been beaten by her brother taking her phone. "Oh my god, I'm doomed!" Mia repeated in alarm and drawing Letty's eyes. "He phones me in 5 minutes!" Mia bolted to her feet. "I need the phone back, Letty." A plea drilling into Letty's soul. Mia needed help and obviously her brain was absent today.

"I… may have an idea." Letty offered, unsure and nervous.

* * *

Letty stood outside Dom's room regretting Mia's big guilt tripping eyes and ever opening her mouth. She hated that Mia was seconds away from a ruined romance, she hated that she had a solution, and she hated that this was the way she'd be seeing Dom after all of this week.

Still, for Mia, for the familial ties she had left with the Toretto's, she knocked on the door.

Mia's head was sticking out of her room, begging silence for Letty to succeed.

"Mia, confess or shove off." Dom's voice came through lazily.

Letty turned back to see Mia with her hands slapped together as if in desperate prayer.

"It's Letty." Letty answered to the door.

Letty didn't exactly know what to expect, but it wasn't the door opening to Dom's naked chest. His nipples right in her eyeline. She must have turned blushed red because a huff of a chuckle came to her ears. She lifted her eyes to see Dom pin Mia with his gaze and her best friend suddenly retreated, leaving her alone in the hallway.

"The texts were me." Letty spoke, aiming for confident, but embarrassed. From Dom's raised eyebrow, it must not have been achieved.

"Sure they were." he answered and stepped back into his room, the door left open. Letty wasn't sure if it was an invitation or not, but there was a timer on this problem and with only a few minutes left before Alex would ring Mia again, Letty couldn't risk it.

So she stepped into the hovel of iniquity, greeting the lost bra lamp shade and thong collection on notice board for the sake of her best friend.

The theme was a strong blue, it echoed the manliness of the weights left on the floor and the cologne in the air.

Letty stepped over the black boxers and into Dom's vision again.

He was laid on his bed, one hand behind his head, the other scrolling through Mia's phone. His eyes were on Letty though, a playful smile teasing his lips.

"We were discussing girl things and… it was silly, so she deleted them so I wouldn't be embarrassed." she lied.

"Really?" he grinned like a cheshire cat and suddenly sat forward. "What kinds of girly things?"

"Periods." Letty blurted out. Not prepared for this level of interrogation.

"Is that so? Because…" he scrolled his thumb up. "She seems to have left the ones where you discuss the advantages of tampons vs panty liners."

Letty felt her face explode with heat, her jaw drop and then stumble back together. She went for the only other thing she could guarantee Mia would not leave on their texts.

"Sex." Letty spit out the word, then realised expansion was desperately needed. "I had the two hour health class." she began, flying by the seat of her pants as her brain stumbled on. "And I wanted to talk about it with Mia."

She watched as Dom's grin grew ever-more-so, a chuckle slipping his lips.

"Is that so?"

Letty felt a warning bell, where was this tease coming from, where was the darkness in his chuckle hiding?

"And Mia was saving my ass by deleting them, so you really don't need to search her phone, at all."

"Who's Alex?" Dom asked, his thumb continuing to scroll.

"Transfer in Mia's year. She's really nice." And that was the beauty of the name Alex, whereas Alex's texts had been deleted, it didn't stop Letty and Mia mentioning his name. Of course, Alex was often short of Alexandra, notable a _girls_ name. One Dom could let slide.

Mia made sure to always delete all the texts between herself and Letty with regards to sex, something about her dad reading over her shoulder like a silent bat.

"So you're telling me it's not a boy." Dom asked, suddenly serious.

"Mia's not dating." Just seeing casually in a sort of dating way in which she was completely nuts for him. But they hadn't officially called it dating yet. So that one was true.

"Alright, you can give this back to her. But Letty." Dom stood, the phone still tight in his hand. "If you have any questions about health class. You really should ask someone with experience." And then the phone was extended across. Letty reached out but it was quickly withdrawn. "But for the record, you're a shitty liar and I don't believe the texts were about health class."

Letty snatched the phone before he could change his mind and she slipped out of the sex dungeon.

Dom followed her, his eyes scrutinizing as the phone started playing the latest pop song and Letty opened the door to chuck it to Mia as if it was on fire.


	10. Chapter 10

Happy it's-almost-friday! :)

Remember that guy that Letty ended up in the back of a car with, and you lovely readers were eagerly awaiting Dom's reaction to it...

Well, wait no longer.

* * *

 **Chapter Ten; Rush**

An hour later, Mia has secured them a ride with Leon and had just left Letty to jump in the shower. Letty had stripped to her underwear and was standing in the dress Mia had promised would make the boys have heart attacks. When Letty had gotten it fully positioned, it was enough to give herself a heart attack.

The white one shoulder dress toyed with lace and satin, it had cut-away peek-a-boo material missing from the bodice, enough to entice but not to be called as indecent exposure. It was tactful, softer than it looked and probably damn expensive.

The sleeve attached to the one shoulder had fancy lace though and at current, that was itching madly at Letty. Mia mentioned something about detachable but for the life of her, she couldn't figure out how.

Letty wasn't going to be itched to death before Mia finished her shower though. She stepped out into the hallway where the water sounds hadn't started yet, Mia was probably selecting which of her many shampoos to use.

"Mi, how do I detach the sleeve? It's itchy." Letty called through the door.

"There's a hook." Mia shouted back.

"Where?" Letty did a customary dance around herself trying to find the hook.

"Ummm, armpit I think. I don't know, it didn't fit me."

"Oh, found it."

"Awesome, I bet it'll look so hot. I'll be out soon." The shower started up as Letty slid the sleeve off down her arm.

"What the hell are you wearing?!" Dom's voice called under the sound of the shower and Letty turned on the spot.

"Ummm…"

"You're not wearing that tonight." Gone was the teasing tone, and playful mood. The bathroom shouted conversation had drawn him out and now he wasn't happy with what he saw.

"It's just a dress." she defended.

"It's barely underwear." he corrected fiercely. "You'll change."

"Why?" she snapped.

"Why?" he repeated with a dead laugh. "Because it sends out the wrong kind of message."

"Fine. Why does it matter to _you_?" she amended her original question. "You said yourself nothing changed between us." she whispered harshly across the distance. "You still see other women. You still refuse to have any interaction at all, however minor, with me. So why do you care?"

"Because you _are_ a minor, and you're not going out there looking like jailbait." he insisted, grabbing her arm and turning her back to Mia's bedroom. "Change."

"Why?" she questioned again, turned to square up to him. "Just because you don't want me. It doesn't mean no-one else can."

"No-one else, like Felix?" he grunted, meeting her toe to toe, arms crossed on his chest an immovable object.

Well, Letty was an unstoppable force and she was damn well wearing this dress.

An educated guess told her Felix was Hector's cousin as Mr Drug Free, it just confirmed what she knew; Dom was aware, and he didn't care. Only enough to stop her from wearing a damn dress.

"Change, or you aren't leaving this house tonight." he threatened.

"No." she challenged, watching the light flare in his eyes. "You said to move on. I'm moving on."

"Moving on?" he laughed sickly. "You're advertising your virginity like a huge banner. Begging for some guy to come and snatch it away in a 2 minute one-sided fuck. Whether you want it to happen, or not." His tone was dark, surely intended to scare her.

It just rose her own fight one step higher, to match his.

"And if I'm not a virgin." she challenged with a lie, the school certainly had no problem believing it. "If Felix sorted that problem out for me." She saw his eyes darken significantly. But he didn't bite, instead he proved her wrong in his own twisted dark way.

It was just a second, but in the quiet of the showers heavy fall it felt like eternity, then he twisted with her, pressing her back to the wall, his hands suddenly alighting flames where they touched her. The passion was back, but tainted with a dark power. His hand grabbed roughly in her hair, tilting her head back, his fingers running hard down her neckline and into her cleavage. His knee pried between her legs, splitting them and resting her sex against his thigh. She felt his lips brush the underside of her jaw and her knees turned to jelly, sagging against him like he was life itself, a rushed breath escaping her.

Her head was spinning, her chin turning to seek his lips, for more of the fire, more of the passion, more of the pleasure he brought her. She craved the fireworks again.

The feeling of being utterly blissed out and wanted; however fleeting it was.

"Feel that?" he purred against her.

She felt like she could feel everything, every muscle she held onto, every nerve ending, every bit of lust and love for him settling direction between her legs, begging her to just move a fraction, just tingle the bundle of nerves that promised to make her scream for him.

His hand pressed hard against her hip bone, stilling her attempted rock. "Feel the way you can't stand up." he spoke again, but this time, it sounded like a mock. "That doesn't happen when you've had a man between your legs." He dropped all touch again, stepping back and letting her catch herself on the wall. "Instead of just your own fingers." he chuckled darkly, a grin of his face calling him a winner. Her dress had ridden up, her underwear showing and she quickly acted to revert it. "When you're going to lie, Letty. Try it with someone who doesn't know how long you've spent pining for them."

He stepped back into his bedroom.

Letty leant against the wall, somewhere between indignation and humiliation brewing in her thoughts.

The shower continued running, the slap of water against the tiles as if nothing had transpired in the hallway.

But it had.

And things had changed.

Letty pushed open Dom's door, letting herself back into the testosterone driven man's territory.

"So what? Am I just fun for you to mess with now?!" she demanded.

Dom turned his head over his shoulder but continued pulling the tank off in change for a white tshirt.

Letty noticed the significant lack of women's underwear than half an hour ago. Even the boxers and weights had been tidied away. On her account?

"What can I say? I like the way you blush." he smarted. Letty had seen a variety of Dom's mood, but never this dark taunting side. "Doesn't change the fact you need to change." he snapped, still seeing the dress.

"I'm not changing."

"Yes. You are." He turned to face her with a dominance she couldn't overlook. "I'm not asking you again."

"Why? Does it make you want me?" she aimed for teasing, she got something else.

"That dress belongs on my bedroom floor, listening to you scream my name." he bit out, advancing slowly. Letty didn't run. How could she when his words were flooding her senses, swimming in her stomach and pooling between her legs. "Get out." he huffed.

"Why?" she begged, letting him cage her against the wall again. "Why won't you?"

"I don't do relationships, and you shouldn't ever do one nights." he explained as best he could. But it didn't stop him from rubbing a thumb over the top of her hip bone in the cut out.

"Then why did you kiss me?" she whispered.

"I was weak." he spoke, shame rippled through him and once more he stepped far away from her.

"…You want me?" she voiced slowly, softly, piecing together the clues to form a picture she hadn't dared to believe.

"I won't ever have you, Letty." Dom swore. "That kiss shouldn't have happened."

"But it did."

"I told you it changed nothing."

"Then nothing has changed." Letty concluded shortly. "You won't touch me, then somebody else will." she snapped, freeing herself from his room and back to the safety of Mia's room.

Letty paced in the white dress, absorbing the information she didn't know how to digest.

30 minutes later, Mia had completed a 'waterfall braid', whatever that was, all Letty knew was that it looked awesome over one shoulder with the dress on the other. Mia had announced the look was drop dead gorgeous along with a confidence boosting: "Oh, you look amazing! You _have_ to wear that tonight!" Leon had been called and from the engine on the drive, he was just arriving.

"Seriously Letty, you look absolutely stunning." Mia gushed again, running her hand through the section of Letty's hair she'd left down. The artistic make-up gave her the appearance of looking years older than she was, hot as hell and dangerous in all the right ways.

Mia had dressed to impress as well, a sister solidarity in clothing choices. The deep blue skin tight dress had been so form fitting Mia had dragged the bra out of the shoulder and pulled on the smallest panties she owned to protect against underwear lines ruining her outfit. She looked just as bad-ass with her styled make-up and braid.

Needless to say, they caused a fuss when they exited the Toretto house to meet Leon's purring engine. "Oh hell no." Leon protested, already turning back to the car.

"Please, this is nothing." Mia smiled at him sinfully.

"I ain't taking you anywhere looking like that." Leon exclaimed, seeing the long legs, longer than he'd ever noted, the dresses shimmering on their skin like they were made only for them. The girls did not look their ages. They even tricked _his_ brain into looking twice. One time more than was decent in his position.

"Please Lee, com'on, you know you should."

"No, what I should do, is get my ass back in the car before Dom even catches a hint you two are dressed like hookers."

"Hey!" Letty protested, stamping her foot with the heel to loudly click on the concrete. Leon flinched; her reputation preceded her.

"Yeah, no fair." Mia agreed, "Besides, if you _were_ to decline us a ride. Bad things might happen." Mia looked down at her painted nails innocently.

It was enough to pause Leon though.

"Like what?" he knew the girls too well to think that they'd be expecting to just walk straight out and he'd let them in his car. They had a plan.

"Either way we'll make it to the races." Letty offered honestly. They'd get another lift, they'd call a cab, they'd hitch hike if necessary.

"We're just saying." Mia passed a conspiring glance to Letty, then back to Leon, her eyes deceptive, her voice alluring but dangerous. "When we make it to the races, we can either tell the ladies what a fantastic guy you are because you gave us a ride and how much we think you'd be perfect for them." Mia flipped out a 'on the other' hand. "Or, we could go the other way and they somehow hear you are a selfish lover."

"With a tiny penis." Letty added.

"And no stamina." Mia continued.

"Woah, woah, you don't go messing with a man's reputation." Leon hissed back at that. "I got a rep to uphold."

"And that reputation you hold so dear will only benefit from letting us ride in your car tonight." Mia offered sickly sweet.

"And if Dom sees us, we even promise to say we got a ride with someone else." Letty supported, staring down Leon.

There was a groan and a head thumped down to the roof of the car, but from the grumble, there were the words the girls wanted.

"Fine, get in." Leon huffed and took a few deep breaths. Damn girls had manipulated him again.

"But you're getting out 'round back and staying away from Dom at _all_ costs."

"Agreed." The girls spoke at the same time, a huge smile on their faces.

Leon felt like he'd lost a part of his soul but dropped into the drivers seat and slide the car into gear.

* * *

Mia and Letty were already between the crowds as Leon finally pulled up into his usual spot besides Vince's Nissan.

The girls were enjoying the attention the clothes demanded. They easily found familiar faces with the wolf whistle that came their way with a sharp blast.

"Damn chicas, what you wearing, you look smokin'. Both of ya." Jose ran a hand to smart up his hair and slung an arm over each of them, pulling them into him. Jose was Hector's brother. Not-biological. Surprisingly married. "Dom let you out like that, chica?" he asked, raking his eye hard down Mia's form. "And damn, where you been hiding ya legs?" he turned to Letty with a grin, an overly dramatic jaw drop as he admired the lengths.

"Brave man." Hector joined the conversation as Jose led them to his ride. Letty found her memory sparked alight with the fire of what could have happened with this car. "Or, perhaps a clueless man." He narrowed his eyes, pinning the girls in their deceit.

"Damn though chicas, muy caliente." Jose complimented.

"How's your wife?" Letty reminded him, used to the antics by the Mexican.

"Nah, she fine girl, she no bother at all." Jose answered, stretching out his arms to twirl them both around and get a 360 view.

Letty wasn't exactly sure what that meant about his rocky relationship with his wife though.

"Hector, I got the new fue-" But Jesse's talk about the new fuel injection system he'd designed from scratch would have to wait because he drew up short. "Woah, no no. Wait, no. This isn't happening." Jesse covered his eyes with his hand. Jesse and Hector had a good relationship with the mathematical brain Jesse supplied and the analytical (if only for gambling) brain Hector had, they usually doubled up for the bookie part of life. Of course, Jesse wasn't quite as extroverted as Hector, not even that Hector could be called much of an extrovert. "This is wrong, this is bad." A finger extended in their direction despite his eyes still shut tight and blinded by his flesh. "'m not looking, I swear." He even turned the other way.

"Hey!" Letty called, a little disgruntled, they weren't bad to look at by any shot. "We don't look that horrible."

"No. No. And that's the problem." Jesse admitted, not turning around. "Oh god this shouldn't be happening."

"It's just clothes, Jesse." Mia offered, tugging on his arm to turn him back around. Jesse was harmless. Sweet and harmless. He never went for the girls that would pounce or pull, no, he called out to the ones who wanted someone to love. Someone who would be there when they needed them, not just for a short, hard fuck. Jesse did turn around, unable to bring himself to fight Mia's will, but then, like a lightning bolt had struck him, he recoiled. "Dom's gunna kill me."

"Why, you didn't dress us." Mia stated logically.

"Or undress us." Letty offered unhelpfully, enjoying the smirk and chuckle she got off Jose in response.

"Gotta live a little dangerously to live ese." Jose agreed with a wink, dropping an arm back around Letty. "Don't she look sexy."

"No, no." Jesse continued. "I'm good with how I live right now. 'Living' is the main point there." he rebutted. "I just don't wanna be the one to tell him his sister and her best underaged friend look like… like… streetwalkers."

It was mildly better than hookers, right? "Besides, he's gunna be all, punch first and as-"

"Damn." An arm came over Mia and she froze up as it did, not recognising the voice. "You gotta come home with me." The voice insisted.

"Ummm, no." Mia, ever so confident, used her thumb and pointer finger to take the thumb of the hand on her and lift it off her. She turned and set herself next to Letty, hooking elbows. "Com'on letty." Letty easily followed, heading to the usual place of residence to scope out the competition.

Of course, that was until they passed a suped up car with purple underlighting and Mia wanted to check it out. Letty roamed to the rear, her eyes on the speaker system, which was probably why, over the booming base, she missed the creeper from before follow up to her best friend and grab her ass.

She missed it until Mia shrieked and turned around to slap.

Letty was by her side the next instant, taking her friend's hand as Mr Creeper tried once more to claim Mia like a caveman claimed a wife.

"Oi, perv, get off her." Letty bit, temper rising again, placing herself between Mia and the creep.

Neither noticed the stumble in his walk, the blown pupils or the trackmarks of the junkie that had just reached the apex of his high. They noticed the grabbing hands, the groin that wanted to rub against them, the scruffy appearance.

"Com'on." he slurred. "Come back with me. I'll show you a good time."

"I don't want to. Go away." Mia tried with decorum, failing miserable at her goal of him leaving.

"'s okay. Your friend can come too. Nice tasty lady." he chuckled, grabbing out at Letty.

Letty was too concerned with stopping him reach for Mia, she didn't react fast enough to stop two hairy arms ensnaring her waist, tugging her off the balance with her heels and sliding hands into the cut-outs of her dress, skin to skin in a way she was _not_ down with.

Her pulse skyrocketed.

Fear slid into place.

"Let her go!" Mia demanded, reaching out for Letty, but Letty finally found her reaction, jabbing an unbalanced step into his foot, the heels stabbing his toes. She wheeled around with an elbow to his face, and for good measure a knee to his groin.

It was excessive.

The creeper would have gone down with a stiff wind it seemed as Letty looked down.

"Jesus Letty!" Jesse's voice was suddenly on them, putting himself between the scared girls and the creep.

"What the hell, man?" The creeper groaned, grabbing his groin as he rolled onto all fours.

Letty could only see the 'could have been' though. This man could have had anything he wanted.

He could have taken everything.

Letty had already had her first kiss stolen from her intended.

She'd had hands all over the body she wanted another man to touch.

She was ruined.

This man could have ruined her completely. Entirely against her will.

He could have touched Mia.

Anger bloomed in her eyes once more.

The creeper on the floor was a would-be rapist.

What if Letty didn't know how to defend herself? What if Letty had gone to look at another car and left Mia here?

Jesse's arm grabbed her as she advanced again, she could feel him, see him and knew not to fight him, but it did nothing to quell the rage.

"Letty, breathe, seriously." Jesse's voice was barely heard.

What could this creeper have done?

"What's going on?" It was Dom's voice, beautiful, strong Dom.

How could she kiss someone else, how could she let someone else put their hands all over her? How could she want someone else to take what was his?

How could he deny her that though?

What if creeper had stolen that?

Letty easily broke Jesse's grip and launched herself at the creeper that had just found his feet. She didn't meet her target.

Dom had seen the white dress and lunged for the raging teen, plucking her from her path and into his arms. "What. The. Hell?" he asked pointedly as he held Letty firmly to his body with one arm, a hand grabbing the back of the other man's shirt.

"It was a misunderstanding." Mia answered quietly with the lie, but Letty's rage dropped, she heard tears in her voice. She turned her head from Dom's grip to see her best friend shaking with fear, tears in her eyes as Jesse stood protectively infront of her.

"Dom?" Vince had appeared from somewhere, a clear question of what was happening.

"Take Mia home." Dom instructed. Vince didn't need anything else, just took the bundle of female from Jesse and led her away. Letty heard her crying as she leant into Vince, she saw the way she looked back to Letty, fear pounding away.

"Mia." Letty called, needing to go to her, to swear she was okay. But Dom held tighter.

"You're with me." Dom spoke, gruff and unforgiving. He released his grip only to grab her painfully around her bicep, leading her through the girls and halfnaked woman to his Supra. She was pushed into his passenger seat and told to buckle up.

The next blink, the engine was firing up and the crowd was parting. Letty turned wide eyed to Dom. He looked back at her but his eyes weren't soft, they weren't playful; they were hard.

As they split from the crowds, he jammed his foot on the accelerator.


	11. Chapter 11

Hello again, and thank you for the reviews. I LOVE them!

About the last chapter; yeah, I agree with reviews, but I see both sides of the thoughts about Letty's dress; yes, she should be able to wear whatever she liked, but yes, she was attracting trouble and perhaps it wasn't the best outfit. But it did look amazing and if that guy hadn't have been there, would nothing have happened? So really, it wasn't the dress' fault... although it may have factored.

Regardless, as you have been so _patiently_ waiting *cough cough*, here you go. The aftermath of the creepy dude and the questionable dress.

* * *

 **Chapter Eleven; Damaged Deals**

Letty felt the wind whip at her hair from the open window, slicing it against her alert sensitivity. She slid with every tight corner as he tugged the wheel hard from side to side and she gripped at the belt she had no recollection of putting on.

He sped like his ass was on fire, his headlights seeing very little as he navigated the back roads in the dark. He knew them well though, all too well to predict every corner and twist. He blasted the only red lights they encountered and Letty felt her confidence drop, she'd never met Dom like this.

She felt fear towards him.

She had felt love, hate, lust and anger towards him, but never fear.

"Dom?" she asked softly.

It broke his silence, but it broke his calm also.

"Don't." he snapped, his voice heavy and dark. A command, not a request.

Letty felt herself shrink, gripping the door for stability as he slammed another corner.

She slowly realised where they were heading.

"I told you." he started again, speaking through his teeth. "I _fucking_ told you." He slammed a hand against the wheel, shocking her. "I told you not to wear that thing." His eyes slashed to her then back to the road.

He jabbed a foot at the clutch and downshifted for the roads incline. Sharp, crisp and precise. All highly intimidating.

"Why did you think it was a good idea?" he snapped again. "Just to defy me?!" His hands squeezed the wheel tighter, the material protesting audibly. "Do you know what could have happened tonight?!"

She did. It boiled her blood and froze her solid in the same thought.

It wasn't just her though.

"Do you realise what could have happened to you, or _my sister_?!"

Exactly, there was Mia.

Mia, who she had last seen crying.

Mia.

She needed to be there, to hug her, to tell her it wouldn't be like that with Alex, to tell her tonight should be forgotten entirely and reassure her she was okay.

Vince couldn't do that. As much as he wanted to.

"Do you?!" His anger needed an answer it seemed.

"Yes." she answer, wanting to desperately show him she really did understand.

"And?" he demanded justification.

"I handled it." She did. She took matters into her own hands, she kept them safe. She'd do it again.

"Handled it?!" It wasn't the right thing Dom wanted to hear, he overtook another car on a dangerous bend and slowed just enough to make the next exit he required. "You handled fuck all." She hated it when Dom swore, it made everything seem so much worse. "You're practically begging someone to take you." he spat out, disapproval clear.

Dust blew into the window as Dom took the roads that were less of roads and more of badly worn dirt tracks as they neared the destination. She'd been a few thousand times before, back when she was learning to drive. "Are you so desperate you don't even care who it is?!" he cut at her again, his eyes like lances as they peeled away all the defences she had. "What the hell do you think you're doing? Seriously?!" The car rumbled along the road as tarmac turned to uneven stones. "You'd really throw it all away because you can't get what you want?!" The dust kicked up a cloud as the stones riddled away and the dirt took over the pathway.

They were here.

Letty didn't think his anger was about the creeper anymore, not really, she could see the red ghoul shouting at her was judging her for every childish decision, for wanting what he said she couldn't have. For disrespecting him, for bringing his sister into it.

She caught the speedometer as she turned away from the dust cloud of the sharp corner that was never meant to be, it was pushing 65mph.

Perhaps this was her penance; death by horrific car crash.

Her mother would be mortified, she had never like Dom. Always thought of Mia's brother as a bad influence. Who could blame her when you saw the bruises he had from fights?

If her mother found the time to attend her funeral, she'd probably say something along the lines of 'I told my daughter that boy was trouble'.

"I told you." he ground out again. "You walk out in that stupid dress" which was slowly losing its bright white to the filth spewed up from the tyres. "Thinking you're so smart and clever, ready to give everything away and almost losing everything to… some horny stoner on a high?!"

Letty was familiar with the turns and curves of the road she used to visit daily. Used to beg someone to take her to. This was where she learned to drive.

Nobody came to the mud tracks by the freeway.

It was meant to be a housing development, then an industrial plant, every time funding fell through or business went bust and the land was given back to the earth and racers. Its heaps of dirt made for obstacles and jumps pleasing to all forms of transport. Its private land made for a lift on speed limits and plenty of space to test new cars to the extreme.

Dom took his car for stress-relief. He would drive as fast as he wanted, risk his life for a new high, new goal, new achievement and all his other problems would be lost under the spinning wheels.

This track was his therapy.

It seemed he'd dragged Letty along for the session.

He tugged the wheel around the largest of the dirt mounds and suddenly he was swerving, the smell of burning rubber and the awful screech of brake pads to hot tyres. He corrected quick, slamming to the car to the left and their bodies to the right. Letty thudded against the car door hard, her head bumping the door frame. The car stopped with the handbrake tugged tight, spun 270 from its original path, a cloud of dust revealing an abandoned mountain bike that had been in their path, narrowly missed.

"Fucking arseholes." Dom muttered to himself angrily.

Letty rubbed her head but the more immediate pain was in her right arm where it had slammed into the door frame, she resisted the need to touch it and cradled it into herself.

It wasn't broken; all fingers were wiggling. Painful but wiggle-able.

"Letty?"

"I know." she answered shortly. "I'm an idiot who wore a stupid dress in an attempt to get an asshole who doesn't want me to change his mind." she admitted self depreciatively, head turned away from him.

She heard a long sigh and a thump as a head rested back on the seat. She could imagine he would be rubbing the bridge of his nose, deciding just what to do to again. What to do with the selfish child that couldn't get over him. "I won't do it again. I've learnt my lesson." Letty spoke again in the silence. Anything to end the day.

To go back to Mia and laugh about some cheesy movie like they'd never gone to the races.

"Letty."

"Take me home?" her voice was quiet, her gaze out the open window on the motorcross bike that had almost killed them.

"Yeah." he sighed, but opened his door, striding across the dirt to lift the bike from the path, dragging it to throw off the track completely. Asshole deserved his bike totalled. Letty waited for the engine to restart as he settled himself back in the seat, instead, he seemed to be thinking things over again. "Letty." he started, then stopped himself. "What are you going to do?"

It was a loaded question indeed. What was she going to do?

Go home, buy a cat and resign herself to being the only person to die of old age still being a virgin.

She was done with everyone else and Dom wasn't even starting with her.

So it left her with nothing. "Damn it Letty, will you just look at me for 5 seconds." he pleaded, still angry.

She didn't move.

"I just want to go back and see Mia."

But something, whatever it was had him out of the car and suddenly appearing before her open window. He pulled the door open and Letty expected another round of yelling until someone three towns over complained. She didn't expect him to reach across and unbuckle her. She certainly didn't expect his hands lifting her surprised body out of the car and onto her wobbly feet.

"Just take me home." she complained more forcefully, turning from him, but he stopped her, finally meeting her eyes.

"Jesus Letty, why didn't you say something?" His hand went to her head, fingers brushing the hair away from the reddening skin on her forehead that was sure to bruise.

"It's fine." she tried to step back but all she succeeded in doing was stepping out of her heels wrestling his grasp single handedly. He noticed, and took her right arm in his grip, she winced at his touch and he recoiled.

"Jesus Letty." he spoke again. "Come on, I'll take you to A&E."

"Don't bother." She picked the heels from the dirt and dropped them into the car, her body quick to follow. "I've broken my arm before; it's not broken."

"Looks like it hurts, Let."

"I've had worse." And she couldn't stop her eyes from cutting at him; it made her point. The pain was nothing compared to the stomping he did on her heart.

Dom was used to throwing himself around on the track, he was used to the high speed turns and he positioned himself away from pain. He didn't usually take passengers though. He hadn't even thought of what he'd done to Letty until her sullen mood had twisted deeper into him than he thought possible.

Whether he liked it or not; he was intertwined and twisted tightly with Letty. He thought time and ignorance would divide them; it seemed it just tightened the knot.

"You need someone to look at it." he insisted.

"I'm not showing my mother." she answered sharply. No, it would come with too many questions. It wasn't worth it for a few free painkillers. She'd spend her own money in exchange for privacy.

"She'll notice the bruising."

"Long sleeves." The answer came with certainty like it had been tried and tested beforehand.

"Le-"

"Please take me home."

It was the please that stalled him. He rarely heard it from either of the girls. Less so from the terror sitting in her seat awaiting her ride home.

But something had changed.

It changed that he dropped to a squat beside the car, resting on his ankles.

"I can't give you a relationship." he started, softly. "I can't be there when you need me and I can't remember all the things you might want me to." His fingers wrapped around hers when she finally looked at him again. "I can't change who I am, racers and girls included." Letty started to wonder why she was listening to the same speech over again, until a plot twist flowed out. "But if you need me to show you that for you to get over me, then I'll do that." Her face must have showed her confusion because he clarified. "If you want to play house to get me out of your system, we can."

"I don't want to _play house_." she gritted out. She wasn't a child.

"It's this or nothing Letty."

The decision didn't take long.

"Fine, but in exchange. I want you to teach me."

"Teach you?" he rose an eyebrow.

"Everything. Everything you want to do with all the others girls. I want you to teach me how to do it all."

"I'm not running a brothel, Letty."

"It's this or nothing." she parroted.

"Fine." he agreed. "but we go slowly." Especially after what almost happened tonight. At least it would keep her out of slutty dresses and backseats for a while. His jealousy would be gone, he would be happier… but, he just prayed she got over him before he fell too deep with her.

"Fine." Letty agreed. "So what now?"

"You go home. I destroy my sisters closet and you take it easy at work tomorrow." he answered, thinking on his feet. "If you still want to."

"And us?"

"We'll figure it out." he responded, standing back to his height and sliding back into the driver's seat.

The plan was to go straight home, but as they passed the races, cars were putting gas to the floor and red and blue sirens were flashing around the buildings. Cops had broken up the party it seemed.

Dom swore and threw the car around the next street, caught unawares and unprepared. There was a security system in place listening to the radio scanners for police activity, but this looked like a planned manoeuvre with little time to react.

Supercars sped past them at green lights and Dom once again had to evade at speed. He pulled the handbrake, drifting the car around the other speeding vehicle, ending up facing the wrong direction on a one way street and restarting the junction at a speed disadvantage.

A disadvantage that had a cop car infront of him.

He pulled another curse from his expansive dictionary of offensive words and slid the car into reverse, bombing down an alley to find the time to slide back into first gear and hit the road the wrong way, dodging parked cars and ongoing racer traffic.

Letty felt every bump and turn on her arm.

Dom took a turn a bit too tight and she couldn't help but wince aloud.

"Fuck. Letty." he groaned. She could see the decisions flying behind his eyes.

"Don't stop!" but his decision was made when she noticed the car slowing. "I can't get arrested, Dom!"

"You won't." he swore, pulling the car to a stop on the side of the road. "Jessica was having a party tonight, you crashed it but some guys scared you off at the door and you changed your mind. You called me to pick you up. We were never at the races." Dom narrated for her.

"Dom!" Letty called, the red and blue lights filling up the rear view, her heart beating fast. "Dom I can't get arrested, my mom won't let me out."

"You won't. You did nothing wrong, you just wanted a lift home from the party."

" _Turn off the engine and step out of the vehicle with your hands raised."_ The officer called.

The engine turned off and Letty's eyes were wide as saucers. Her mother was going to kill her.

"Stay here. Don't move Letty." Dom instructed, reaching outside his open window slowly to open his door. "Don't run." he insisted, seeing the look in her eyes.

Letty watched as Dom stepped out of the car and two officers approached as he knelt to the floor.

"She's my sister's best friend. She's 16." Dom spoke instantly as they took the ID from his wallet.

"Miss, step outside of the car." Letty met the eyes of the female officer, a petite thing, probably fast, but Letty still couldn't shake the idea of running.

"Dom." Letty called.

"Miss, step outside the car with your hands raised." The officer insisted again.

"Letty, it's okay. Go with her." he called and Letty could see the male officer was putting cuffs on Dom's wrists.

"Letty? Is that your name? I need you to step out of the car, now."

Letty moved slowly, afraid of what would happen if not, and she found herself pressed against the car as soon as she stepped out, crying out in pain as her arms were placed behind her back and locked in handcuffs.

Letty found herself walked barefoot across the hot tarmac and towards the police car.

Dom was on his feet, eyes on her, pleading with her to behave.

* * *

Mia looked up the instant the door opened. She broke past Vince's extended hand, over-protective as always, and straight into Letty's arms.

"You okay?" Both girls asked at the same time, the arms around them comfort and a reminder at the same time.

"Thank you." Mia whispered against her best friends shoulder. "I don't know what would have happened and it was so scary. I'm glad you're my best friend."

Letty squeezed Mia tighter for a second then stepped back, her arm unable to maintain much more without passing her pain threshold.

"Where's Dom?" Vince asked.

"I don't give a damn if he's lying dead in a ditch somewhere." Mia spat. "Did he yell at you?" she turned back to Letty.

He may have yelled but he had bartered, bargained and begged for the police to take the cuffs off of Letty the second he saw they were on, the second he saw the pain spiralling up her arm.

"Yeah." Letty answered, still amazed with the day.

She had been dropped off by police escort to her home address. They were going to speak to her mother, but another call came across the radio and the female police officer just had her swear to stay away from trouble and left her at the door.

Evidentially, there was very little to say Letty was anything but an innocent bystander desperate for a ride home from a bad party experience.

Dom, however, he had a list of priors that kept on reeling.

She'd watched them sit him in the back of the car like a common criminal. She'd heard them read him his rights. She'd been under his eyes the entire time. He didn't give a shit about his rights, or the charges, or even the traffic violation they were listing out to him. No, for once, his eyes were only for Letty.

Guilt; Letty pinned it to.

He felt guilty she was in pain.

It must be.

It was clear Dom's feelings for her were as fleeting as the wind so why put stock in them now.

Maybe it was blame.

He wouldn't have thought twice about running from the cops; his car could certainly manage it. But because of her… he had to stop.

Did he look at her and see the blame for all of the infractions he was not listening to?

Letty's heart sank from its sky high.

But Letty had raced the streets over, carrying her heels in her hand for one person; Mia.

She raked her eyes over the teenager in her pyjamas with Vince's jacket over her shoulders.

Ignorant of the pain it caused, she pulled Mia back into a sharp hug.

"Letty." Vince's voice was soft, but rightfully questioning. "Where's Dom?" Obviously he'd heard about the races being broken by sirens.

Jesse and Leon had even paused the elaborate attempt at cooking in the kitchen for the seriousness in Vince's tone.

Letty uncurled her bad arm from Mia and faced the boys that would take the news the hardest.

"He was arrested."


	12. Chapter 12

Good Morning.

I'm a little late on the posting this week but I can only ask for forgiveness and hope some drama mends the relationship.

I guess this chapter is a little something special for all those with siblings. I am one, and I can say this is entirely within the realms of possibility.

* * *

 **Chapter Twelve; Burned**

Letty had spent the night on the sofa with Mia, in pyjamas and watching movies with the boys until they all fell asleep anywhere comfy. Mia had had the logic to move herself to bed to sleep at some point. Letty hadn't.

She'd woken with the buzz of Jesse's alarm on his phone, as had the rest of the gang and the bathroom battles had begun.

Needless to say, it was all hands on deck in the garage since Dom wasn't there.

Vince had announced the lawyer was all over it as Letty was elbow deep in the bucket of nuts and bolt spares, but said nothing more.

The Lawyer made a lot of money from the boys, no doubt. Leon said the guy had gotten most of them out of a court sentencing at some point. They had no doubt Dom would be home by tea.

Letty on the other hand, was being buried alive by her worry.

Mostly: was Dom still prepare to 'give it a go' as he said yesterday, or had this arrest changed things?

Her arm was bruised blue when she woke up. It would be an un-necessary reminder to Dom and nobody else had a right to know, so she'd pulled a long sleeved top two sizes too big out and was constantly reminding herself not to roll it up as she dove into oil once more.

Time dragged slowly, there was still jobs to do, more so than usual. But without Dom's presence, without the office door constantly in swing with a huffing sigh of annoyance, it wasn't the same. Vince had tried to take Dom's usual office jobs, but Vince had an undying love for engines, he couldn't sit still for 5 minutes before the call of the hands-on demanded he answer.

Jesse, Leon and Vince were still battling down long lists by the time Letty's hours finished and Mia was waiting hands on hips.

"Dad's coming home early." Mia announced softly as Letty pulled off the coveralls and cradled her sore arm away from Mia's eyes. "The lawyer rang him, something about payment and Dad found out. He said he left as soon as he found out, even missed the morning race that was scheduled." Mia scratched at her chipping nail polish. "He'll probably be home in half hour or so."

"He gunna be mad?" Letty had never seen Mr T mad.

"He doesn't get mad. He just gets quiet… and then he looks at you and you start spilling your guts." Mia explained, having had the experience a few times before when she'd broken something of Dom's and hidden it. "I'm thinking I might see if I can cook him something before Dom gets released, maybe put him in a good mood." Mia suggested, her phone already out and googling recipes no doubt.

"Oh, I guess I should go home and…" take pain killers probably. Maybe start the washing machine. Create another food shopping list. Change the bedding? She couldn't remember what state she'd left the house in.

"No. You were there, dad will want to know everything from you too."

"I didn't really… I mean, I wasn't there."

"Of course you were." Mia scoffed a laugh and started walking out of the garage, knowing Letty had grabbed her gear to walk home too. "He probably won't ask much."

"There's nothing to tell, really. Maybe leave it until Dom gets back."

Desperate to change the conversation, Letty turned to something she needed to know but hadn't been able to ask with the male ears around. "Are you okay after what happened last night?"

"Oh my god, Letty. I was so scared, I thought he was going to drag me away."

The girls launched into a play by play. Letty insisted upon telling Mia several ways to damage a male predator so they wouldn't stand back up for a while and Mia repeated her pacifist views and belief of misunderstanding over and over.

It wasn't until they were 10 minutes away they realised the smoke clouds in the air were not the factories in the next neighbourhood, but were coming from Mia's road.

"Are you neighbours really bad at barbeques?" Letty joked, they could smell the smoke from here.

"Mr Key sometimes burns incence for the bugs in his garden, but it's never this bad."

"Didn't you say he had dementia?" Letty asked, worried.

"Oh, yeah."

"So, is he perhaps burning his garden shed?" Letty prompted, suddenly looking for fire engines.

"I dunno." Worried, Mia quickened her pace. Mrs Key wasn't very mobile, if her husband started a fire, she'd need help. Letty kept the quick pace, but as they neared, Mia was in a flat out run, the smoke not coming from Mr and Mrs Key but from the spectators in the street crowding her house, it was coming from the very home she grew up in.

Letty and Mia skidded through the curious neighbours to where the fire was burning in the old washing machine drum upturned on the drive.

From Mia's window, Dom's arms were appearing, loaded with dresses, skirts and tops, all of which were being very skilfully aimed into the trashcan.

Mia's scream was enough to disturb the rest of the neighbourhood that hadn't turned up, she ran for the fire to save the ice-blue halter neck she'd scored for a tenth of the online price. The bolt of female fury was only saved from singed hands by Letty's arms tugging back around her waist, her squeal of pain completely lost in the situation.

"Are you fucking insane?!" Mia screamed up to her brother who simply carried on raiding his sister's room. "I hate you!"

"I'll cry myself to sleep." Dom replied sarcastically.

Letty was quick on Mia's heels as she stormed inside, grabbed the first thing she saw that could cause damage, the sewing scissors left on the side from dramatic clothing alteration needs, and sprinted upstairs fully intending assault and battery.

Of course, Dom had put her wardrobe in front of her bedroom door and all Mia could manage was a wiggle in the doorframe and a banshee scream that could wake the dead.

Before Mia could start hacking at her door with the brandished scissors, a better idea came across. She almost ran into a dumbstruck Letty as she wheeled into her brother's room, the scissors taken to all of his tank tops and every other article she could find until nothing but shreds were left.

Letty remained on the top of the stairs as she heard the screams of abuse and hate pass backwards and forwards (mostly from Mia, Dom was stoically sarcastic in responses).

That was until she heard the familiar rumble of the engine on the driveway.

Letty figured it was time to leave this to a family matter and slunk downstairs.

She found herself collared by a very irritated patriarch though.

"Ah, ah." he collected her and turned her back to the kitchen. "You wanna explain why my children ar-"

"I swear to god Dom, dad's going to kill you when he gets home." Mia screamed.

"And when he hears about your slut parade of dresses?" Dom snapped back.

Letty looked from the stairs back to Mr T, pleaded for release.

"I think I might be able to figure this one out myself. Why don't you run on home, Letty?" Mr T suggested with a tired smile. "Mia can text you when she's paid penance."

"Slut parade of dresses? What about your _sluts_ in general?!" Mia snapped back. "Does dad know how many skank's thongs are under your bed?! You can't find an incinerator big enough to burn the skank out of your room."

"Mia, get the fuck out of my room!" The wardrobe could be heard being moved.

Mr T rose a finger to the stairs and gave Letty a quick smile as he made his way to the stairs to intercept the physical fight about to descend.

"I hope you burn yourself so bad no skanks want to come anywhere near you!"

"I'd burn _you_ if dad wouldn't complain about the smell!" Dom whipped back.

"DOMINIC ANTHONY TORETTO!"

Letty scurried out the front door as the neighbourhood recoiled in fear, returning quickly to their houses as the fire continued to burn.

* * *

Letty didn't hear from Mia. From the silence, she presumed Mia's phone had been taken from her, probably until she replaced what she had destroyed.

So she wasn't sure what she was walking into when she made her way over to the Toretto household Sunday.

"Where the fuck are my keys, Mia?!" Dom yelled, standing on the bottom of the stairs.

"Why should I tell you?!" the familiar voice of her friend replied.

Letty had noted the absence of the flaming drum on the drive, but the scorch marks obviously remained on both stone and the family relations.

"Mia. My keys! Now!" he repeated.

Letty winced, she was surprised there wasn't a noise complaint from the neighbours.

"No!" Mia screamed back. "You can walk your fat ass to work!"

"Morning Letty." Mr T greeted calmly and quietly from where he sat with cereal and toast at the dinner table. Letty was still on her usual Sunday programming, not expecting Mr T to be home until later for church. Certainly not expecting him to be calmly reading the paper while his children raged at each other. "Apologies that Mia hasn't been able to text you back." He pulled Mia's mobile from his pocket. "She'll get around to it when things are sorted." He smiled and sipped his coffee like it wasn't world war three in his house.

"Do you want me to kill you today, because that's what I'm hearing from you!" Dom shouted back "Where are my keys?!"

"I hope you get crushed by a car today!" Mia quipped back from inside her room.

"That would need me to have my _keys_!" he called.

"You're not having them!"

"Mia. God save you if you don't tell me where you've put my keys!"

"If you had half a brain you'd already know. It's the exact same place as they always are. But you're always too stupid to find them!" she smarted.

Letty stood jaw agape at the father figure that took no interest in the death threats between his children. She had never seen them like this.

"They'll burn themselves out, Letty." He smiled at her, noticing her lack of comfort. "How's work going? I trust you weren't too overburdened without Dom yesterday?"

"Ummm. No. Vince pulled extra." she answered, still lost in the situation. Where was the strong fatherly hand to support and guide?

"I guess I was lucky you never bothered to play hide and seek with me!" Mia continued. "With your stupid thick brain I'd still be lost!"

"Give me my keys before I come up there and rip your throat out!"

"You looking for a ride to work?" Mr T asked politely.

"Dom usually takes me." Letty stated, but uncertainty was flowing in.

"Perhaps you'd be willing to lend a hand with his keys before I have customers stating I haven't opened on time. I do hate to disappoint my customers." He grinned.

Letty took herself into the kitchen, opening the lower cabinet with the aged shoe polish and uncapped the red leather polish. It was the same place Mia always used. Usually Mr T saved them for his son. Letty knew it well enough though. She went to the bottom of the stairs, unsure how to approach Dom. For how angry he was, it all seemed very trivial as he fired off threats to his sister's life, his anger seemed nothing compared to how he was with Letty in his car.

She shuffled her sleeve down, conscious of the memory it brought.

Dom had turned to the new presence only to catch the rubbing of her arm, the jingle of his keys in her fingers.

Dom said nothing, just took the keys as she extended them out.

Letty followed him past his father's kind words for both of them to have a nice day and took seat in the passenger side of his ride.

Dom started the car before she even had a chance to click in her seatbelt and for a split second Letty feared she'd be taken for another round of punishing therapy.

Instead, he said nothing, just shifted gears and kept the car at the speed limit as he drove in silence to work.

"You okay?" Letty dared herself to ask as they neared the garage and their time alone kept shrinking.

"Yeah." he answered short, quick. Blasé like. Like he wasn't even listening.

"You seem not."

She wanted to ask him about what he said. She wanted to ask what was happening with the lawyer, what he was being charged with, what would happen to her.

She wanted to know if she was the reason he'd burnt all of Mia's clothes.

She wanted to know if he would finally kiss her again.

But her questions were all cut off with his short and conversation ending reply.

"I'm fine."

Letty went back to mentally planning the things she needed her mother to do the upcoming week, most prominently; new clothes for school.

* * *

Letty didn't expect Mia to turn up to the garage at 5pm. Her mobile in hand and happily texting someone. Bets went to Alex.

"You seem happier."

"Dad took me out shopping." Mia grinned. "I got new clothes."

"Oh, okay."

"And, I mean I did have to spend my own money to replace some of Dom's. But I got him the cheap shit anyway, so it doesn't matter."

"Okay…"

"No honestly. Dad's taken Dom's paycheck to buy me all the clothes today."

"Right." Letty tried to keep up with family logic, but apparently destroying your sibling's clothes was fine, as long as you replaced them? Letty found herself happy to be a single child.

"So, where is the asshole?"

"Out getting parts." Letty answered. "Some wannabe came in and wanted everything Dom had. Jesse said he was overpaying for it all as well." Letty grinned.

"Another stupid asshole." Mia commented, but kept her smile as she tapped away on her phone.

"They're doing it tomorrow." Letty complained.

"Yeah, and no matter how much you beg, answers not gunna change." Vince butted into the conversation. "Hi Mia."

"Oh, hey." Mia greeted politely and turned back to her phone.

"They won't let me come in because it's Monday." Letty concluded with a sour pout.

"Ah little monkeywrench, don't worry. Dom'll race the little shit for slips and then you can play with the car as much as you want."

"It's not fair." Letty whined.

"Get used to it. Life ain't." Vince grumbled on, turning back to the Chevrolet that he was invested in.

"Men." Mia grumbled.

"How's…" Letty wiggled her eyebrows to replace the name she couldn't speak in the garage of Toretto male alliance. "dealing with the phone ban?"

"23 missed calls. Two potential threats to report me missing to the police. 46 texts of desperation." Mia grinned. "And one picture of a huge teddy bear who says he missed me more than life." Mia cuddled the phone to her chest. "I explained everything and he offered for his brother to come and beat up my brother."

"And you declined?" Letty asked, curious about the big smile.

"Of course, things have settled with my new wardrobe financed by my dear big brother." Then Mia seemed struck by an idea. "Did he take the truck to get parts?"

"Yeah, why?"

"No reason." Letty watched confused as Mia walked into the Toretto office for all of three seconds before exiting with a giant smile. The reason became clear as they walked from the Toretto property. Her fingers uncurled to show the very keys Letty had had in her hand that morning.

"I though you guys had settled."

"We have, but that doesn't mean I forgive him." Mia laughed. "I mean seriously Letty, I'm so glad you're getting over my brother, could you imagine being with an asshole like he was last night?!"

Letty laughed over the pain the words caused her. "Anyway, I'm thinking of going over to Alex's tomorrow, you good to cover me?" The meaning was clear, Mia had already arranged to see Alex, she just needed a lie to tell her father and brother.

"Yeah." Alone on Monday evening again, Letty concluded pitifully to herself. At least her Netflix queue was getting shorter.

"Fantastic! I love you Letty!" Mia hugged her as they walked. "We can go shopping on Friday too!"

"You've just been shopping."

"Yeah, for dad-approved stuff. I need to get back in my own style." Mia complained. "We could get you some stuff too!" Newly enthused, Mia danced down the street, weaving a story about a dress she'd seen, mourning the loss of her previous loves and planning for new heartbreakers.


	13. Chapter 13

Good Afternoon/Morning/Night.

Time for another dose of drama!

* * *

 **Chapter Thirteen; Stay the night**

"Mum, I need some new clothes." Letty broached the subject tentatively as her mother finished the last of her coffee. "My shoes still need repairing and I can't wear my trainers to school anymore."

"Oh. Of course." Her mother paused, her eyes accusing to the cupboard where Letty's scuffed and battered school shoes lay to rest. "I thought we got them repaired."

"Not yet." It had been another whirlwind of empty promises. "I kinda need some new trousers too, they don't fit so well." Letty admitted shyly. Not a lot of her clothes fitted her frame.

"Okay, okay." Her mother thought aloud as she walked to the jacket on the hook in the hallway. "I suppose, ummm, let's see. Wednesday after school?"

"This Wednesday?" Letty asked, amazed there was a plan so fast. Usually, her mother left it open ended.

"Yeah, absolutely, Wednesday. You're not working are you?"

"No, that's just weekends ma." Letty tried not to feel disheartened her mother couldn't recall a fixed schedule she had carried for a year.

"Yeah, Wednesday then." And her mother was taking the keys and handbag Letty passed her, out the door.

Letty's next social contact came an hour later as she stared down the burnt pizza and decided whether to try and salvage it or forsake another meal. She was hungry though.

With a the slightly-less-burned pizza crust in her mouth Letty answered the ringing housephone.

"Finally!" the voice at the other end called. "I have been trying to get a hold of you for the past we-"

"It's Letty, Aunt Carol" Letty answered, knowing her aunt had mistaken the voice once again.

"Oh hey sweetheart, how's things?"

"Good. Really good."

"Yeah, you keeping busy?"

"Going to school, working, watching movies." Letty grinned with her approved teenage reply.

"And… your mother's at work isn't she?" Aunt Carol guessed correctly.

"You just missed her."

"Uh-uh." The disbelief dripped from the tone. "I'm sure I did."

"She walked out the door an hour ago."

"On her day off? Again?" her aunt continued. "Has she even been home this week?"

"You chose a bad day to call. She's been in most of the week before her night shift starts."

"Is that so?" and Letty knew she'd walked into a trap. "Because I phoned everyday for the past week and nobody answered."

"Shopping, sleeping, tonnes of reasons she'd ignore the phone, you know what she's like." Letty lied again.

"Of course I know what she's like, which is why I know that her daughter would lie to protect her."

"You can ask her yourself." Her mother would change the subject if she did, she always would.

"How about you ask her to phone me back, because I'm ringing daily until I speak to her."

"Okay."

"Letty, you promised me you would let me know if things ever got as bad as they did before."

"They're not, I swear." Marginally.

"Alright, I'll chalk this up as really bad timing, but honestly Letty, I'm worried."

"Don't be, mum's fine."

"Not worried about your mum sweetheart, worried about you. I'm not having a repeat of last time."

"You won't. I promise it's just bad timing."

Of course, when Wednesday did roll around, her mother had a note on the kitchen table in almost illegible handwriting that said she was at work. No apology about not going shopping, just 'at work' with a timestamp below.

Letty was used to expecting the disappointment, she'd grown up with it.

It would be more surprising if she _did_ remember at this point.

And then there was Dom, there had been absolutely no movement between them since Friday's excitement. She didn't know what was happening legally, she didn't know if he still wanted to 'play house', she didn't know if he'd kiss her ever again.

Her heart fluttered at the thought. Was it wrong to say she was already addicted to his kiss?

But, nothing had happened.

It was like Letty had dreamed the entire thing. If it wasn't for the green-ish bruising hidden under her long sleeve blouse, she'd consider she had.

Her mobile vibrated against the granite of the kitchen top where her bag was dumped.

Probably an apology as her mother recalled she was meant to take her clothes shopping.

Nope: it was from Mia.

 _You are my bestest friend EVER and I have a HUGE favour to ask you and please please please say yes!_

Letty slipped onto the breakfast stool with a sigh.

Her mother hadn't even remembered what she had forgotten.

She'd end up with another detention if she kept wearing the trainers, Mr Plant had stopped her in the hallway to offer her detention if she didn't have a good reason for the trainers. The principal had ended up being informed as a result of Letty's 'piss poor' excuse and Letty had been given a week to sort it, or detentions every Friday.

Which meant she'd be breaking her own savings to buy school stuff, again.

So much for this car she was getting.

Letty spend 30 seconds of wallowing with her head on her folded arms before returning to the text at hand.

 _What do you want? I can come over btw, mum's out._

At work. But out none-the-less.

 _Dude, she worked yesterday too. You have to come over asap!_

A lie came out so much easier over text.

 _She's swapped days so we can go to the cinema. Omw._

Letty left the phone on the counter and sped to her room to change the school clothes for more comfortable jeans and top.

She was in the warmth of the Toretto kitchen within 10 minutes of changing, the smell of spicy chicken wings making her mouth water.

Mr T greeted her as she liked best.

"Oh good, Letty, you best stay for teatime too, I accidentally made extra again." It was becoming less of an accident and Letty couldn't be happier. She accepted with a smile and took the stairs two at a time.

Mia was pacing her room, the phone hugged to her chest.

"I want to say yes." Mia began. "But I'm not sure I want to say yes."

"To…" Letty offered, the door shutting behind her as she sat on the bottom bunk that was pretty much hers by this point.

"What I'm going to ask you is the BIGGEST favour I will ever ask you, ever!" Mia warned, hands up and prepared for a bad reaction. Letty became very suspicious, Mia hardly ever needed her for anything.

Unless it was boy related.

From the death grip on the mobile, she could safely say it was Alex related. "And I'm pretty sure I want to say yes, and that would mean asking this favour, but then there's this little voice in my head that thinks it's an idea that needs more thought. So I need you to therapist me."

"Okay, what is the favour?"

"No. I need you to blind therapist me." Mia corrected "You might flip if I just tell you."

"Alright, this thing you want to do." Letty began, "Do you want to do it?"

"I don't know." Mia sank to the floor elegantly, legs crossed and arms outstretched with the phone. "I think I do. But what if I'm not ready for it."

" _Is it sex?_ " Letty asked in a whisper, leaning closer.

Mia shook her head quickly.

"Not sex." she whispered back. "But I mean, I know I'm not ready for that, and we agreed to not, but what if things just happen and then it happens, you know."

Letty took a second to process and guess the situation.

"Alex asked you to do something that could possibly lead to sex and you don't know if you want to do it because of that risk, but you do want to do the actual thing?" Letty vocalised, mindful of the volume of her voice.

"Yes." Mia nodded.

"Do you think Alex would stop if you asked him to?"

"Yes. Absolutely." Mia agreed, "But it would totally ruin the mood."

"And we care about the mood because?"

"Because I'd be spending the rest of the night with him." Mia admitted.

"Oh." Letty summed the picture up quite clearly. "Alex asked you to sleep over."

"Yes." Mia admitted. "And I want to, I really want to."

"Which explains the favour." Letty tagged on to herself.

"And I know it's huge, but it's gunna get bigger as well." Mia sheepishly explained.

"How bigger?" Letty tentatively asked.

"Well, on Friday, I figured we'd go shopping after school. And then I'd be having a sleepover at yours as soon as we got back until Saturday morning?"

"Friday? Missing the races?"

"I know. I know. It's a big favour Letty, but his brother is going to look at some university in another state and his mom and dad are taking him and Alex has the house to himself Friday night."

"And what if he does want sex?" Letty asked, suddenly feeling betraying run through her. Friday night were the races, it was the only time she saw Dom outside of work. The only time she got even close to being behind a wheel.

"I don't know." Mia crashed to her floor exhausted with the mental dilemma. "What if I am ready?" she muttered to the floor.

"You're at panic level six over the thought of this; you aren't ready." Letty numbly replied with clarity.

Mia groaned aloud and flopped over onto her back, limbs akimbo like a starfish.

"Why is dating so hard?"

"So don't go and sleepover." Letty suggested.

"No, I want to. I want to fall asleep with him holding me. I want to wake up next to him."

"And sneak out in the morning before anyone notices?"

"Don't be a sourpuss." Mia complained softly.

"Sorry. I just don't think you should go if you don't feel comfortable saying no to him."

"But… what if I want to say yes to other things." Mia offered quietly. "I'm not ready for all of it, but… some of it maybe." Then like a bolt of lightning Mia suddenly shouted out to Letty. "Oh, I need you to stick your tongue out!"

"Another favour?" Letty chuckled, but slipped the pink of her tongue between her lips and smiled around it at Mia as if to ask what for.

"Now, keep it stuck out and let it dry."

"wy?" Letty did her best to ask 'Why?' with her tongue stuck out of her mouth.

"Experiment." Mia announced happily, sitting up and staring at Letty's tongue.

"'ot?" the question of what was lost in sound but complete with the shrugging motion demanding an answer.

"Okay, so." Another secret spilled as Mia leaned closer. "Gina asked Kelly what it felt like, to touch a penis when it was hard." Letty recalled the name Kelly as the school slut in Mia's year, she'd heard judgement passed various times before from Mia. "And Kelly said it was like a dry tongue."

A drastically changed version of 'and you want to know if it's true' was attempted by Letty with her tongue out of her mouth still. Mia somehow understand and nodded ferociously.

"I know you won't lie to me, and you're the only person whom I know has actually touched one." However fleeting it was.

"'iv Abecs?" Letty logically following the conversation and asked what was only a fair assumption; was this what Mia wanted to be doing with Alex?

"I've thought about it, and, I really like him Letty. He makes me feel so special. Like I'm the only person alive to him." Mia turned all dreamy eyes to her phone again. "He's the last person I text at night and when I wake up, he's the first text I send. I just feel like I finally understand all this cutesy lovely dovey stuff on all the romantic movies." Mia turned her eyes back to Letty, they were big and spilling secrets again. "He says he wants to touch me, to please me…" the intention was clear. "And, I want him to Letty, and I want to please him too." Mia bit her lip and stared down at the phone. "I don't want anything more than that just yet, and I told him so, and he says he's okay with that. He says we don't have to any anything until I want to. I think he means it too Letty." And then like a revelation, Mia spoke the words she'd been evaluating "I trust him." Like that her decision had been made. "I know it's a huge ask, but please, will you cover for me Friday? I know it means you don't get to go to the races, but I'll owe you one. Anything you like!"

Letty nodded her agreement.

Alone on Friday night.

Back to how it was before she met Mia.

Before she stumbled upon the racing scene.

When she'd spend her Friday nights with her homework and the tv for company.

When nobody cared if she ate, showered or slept.

When she walked by on the earth completely invisible.

But for one Friday night, she could survive that for Mia's happiness.

Letty pressed her fingers to the tongue outside her lips, confirming Kelly as the slut she was.

"She was kinda right." Letty spoke, her tongue finally back in her mouth and feeling very weird.

"Seriously?" Mia then proceeded to spend the next three minutes with her tongue outside her mouth, still making attempts to give a full narrative of the overheard conversation Kelly and Gina had, though mostly in vowel form.

After a hearty plateful of food, Mia and Letty were laughing on the sofa in the living room a romcom playing on the big screen.

Mia was still 100% engrossed when Dom walked through the door. Letty tuned out the tv and directed her ears to the kitchen.

" _Mrs Peacock was back again."_ Dom grumbled to his father. _"Says she can still hear the rattling."_

" _Did you check the engine?"_

" _Yeah."_ Dom huffed. _"Don't know why I bother, we both know only she can hear it."_

" _You better not have charged her."_ Mr T knew his son's temper. Mrs Peacock had a mild form of tinnitus and the rattling may very well be there for her, but it wasn't a problem on the car, not matter how many times she brought it in. Still, Mr T insisted the boys check the car for her each time, without charge.

" _Wanted to._ " Dom huffed. _"You leave me a plate?"_

" _Oven."_ Mr T simply stated and Letty heard the open of the oven door and the scrape of food and cutlery.

Letty stretched back on the sofa, tilting her head just enough to see Dom pull a seat at the table Mr T was working at, his plate full of food and his hands black with engine grease.

As usual, the sordid visuals started playing.

Visions of Dom coming home to her, of his putting his hands all over her body, his oil handprints over her skin as he kissed every inch of her.

"Awwwww, I bet she ends up with this guy." Mia offered, drawing Letty's attention back.

"I thought you wanted her with the fireman." Letty countered, reminding Mia of her start of movie prediction.

"Yeah, but that was before I know about this guy, just look how cute they are as a couple."

Letty half watched, and half stole glimpses at Dom.

She watched him scroll up and down something on his phone as he shovelled forkfuls of chicken and veg into his mouth.

He licked hot sauce from his fingers without care for their state of cleanliness.

Letty squeezed her thighs together.

He said he'd play house. But he clearly didn't know her version of house involved dirty housewife fantasies that stemmed from him in post work scruff.

" _Gunna grab a shower then head to Vince's."_ Dom grunted out to his father. _"He wants a hand rebuilding the triumph's engine."_

" _I thought he was selling it for parts?"_ Mr T asked, looking up from the paperwork. _"The engine was shot last time I saw that."_

" _Some guy online said he's rebuilt one before. Vince's been grilling him all week. He wants to try."_

" _Don't let him get his hopes up."_ The fatherly advice met a nod and Dom scraped another forkful to his mouth.

Letty was hooked on the idea of a joint shower. If they were indeed to play house, the doting lady of the story would surely need to led her man to the shower, undress him, soap him up and down and ensure he was properly relaxed after his hard day.

Letty's imagination ran wild.

If she had the balls, what would he say to her sneaking into his shower?

Would he let her play out her house fantasy?

Or would he be thinking about a stranger's thong wrapped around his middle finger as he groped a tightly toned ass and giant tanned tits that didn't belong to Letty at all?

Letty's fantasy bubble popped quickly.

Dom wasn't playing house at all.

He barely even knew she existed.

He lied to placate her.

She insisted she remember that every time she thought about Dom.

The Dom that agreed to try and the Dom that didn't even show an inch of effort!

Disappointed in herself Letty cut him out of her eyeline, watching the two idiots in the movie fight for the same woman.

* * *

Friday rolled around and Letty spent the evening wallowing alone and the night in bed with her phone on loud in case Mia needed her to raise any alarms; police or, if truly desperate, brother. So she didn't expect the vibration to shock her alert from sleep at midnight when her last text from Mia was that she was watching a movie before bed an hour ago. Had something happened?

Panicked, Letty scrambled in the bedsheet tangle to reach the phone, eyes burning in the sudden light intrusion as she unlocked the phone.

But the text was not from Mia.

No, it was from Dominic Toretto.

Surely this was a hoax? She pulled open the text.

 _Come over._


	14. Chapter 14

Are you going wackadoodle? No, this is a double chapter week!

What can I say, I am weak when it comes to your reviews that plead with my soul. You guys deserve some Dotty! So here comes a happy bonus post! (I will be stronger next time, I hope)

I see from reviews, there is a bit of 'dissatisfaction' in a few of you. I implore you; trust in the writer. I know what I'm doing, well, 60% of the time.

The secondary plot may be liked by some, it may just be waffle to some others, but; it serves a purpose to the primary plot so I shall be continuing.

Yes; Letty is obsessed beyond belief and very weak in herself. Again, with her background you see it, but the endgame is the strong, sexy, 'tyre marks on your bitch ass face' Letty we know from film. This is just the journey and you are welcome to come along for the ride. I mean; ride or die, right? Haha.

On a serious note; there are some absolutely FANTASTIC fanfics out there that may be more on your wavelength so if you aren't feeling it, I am not offended, not everybody is going to like this. It's like marmite.

* * *

 **Chapter Fourteen; Touch me.**

Letty felt bolt wide awake.

This was surely meant for someone else right? This was massively in error.

Dom had never text her. She only had his number because of work. She was sure he had the same reasoning.

Letty stared at it, as if to expect the 'oops, wrong number' to appear in the next second. But minutes passed and none came.

Letty went for the safe option.

 _Mia's sleeping over._

The lie she was supposed to be sticking to, at least.

 _And chances are she's asleep, come over._

Well that sorted out the idea of wrong recipient. He knew exactly who he'd sent the message to and it wasn't in error.

 _Why?_

It was highly suspicious.

 _Please._

Was all the reply she received.

Letty didn't need telling twice, she swapped pyjama shorts for her jeans and slung a hoodie over the pyjama top she left on.

Every part of her thought it was a bad idea. It was risking her lie for Mia, it was suspicious at best, but it was _Dom._ Dom was asking her to come over. Dom was saying 'please'.

Letty locked up her empty house and half jogged, half walked the streets across to the Toretto home.

The lights were off in the downstairs. The door locked.

Anxiety sped up her spinal cord.

Something was wrong.

Oh god, what if he'd got stuck under a pile of passed out hookers or something?!

Surely this was a Vince thing?

But… it was only half past midnight, Dom's Supra shouldn't be in the driveway as it was. It should be getting a victory lap or two in at the races. It should be feeling the curved ass imprint on its hot bonnet.

Letty whipped out her phone, needing to know there was no trap from Mia's end.

 _You still okay?_

Mia's text was almost instantaneous. It seemed Letty was the only person even contemplating sleep this early on Friday.

 _Fantastic. I'll tell you all about it tomorrow. I owe you huge!_

Letty pulled out her keys again, the spare key for the backdoor of the Toretto household allowing her into the abode. The door locked as it slid back home and Letty following the familiar route through the Toretto home to the stairs.

The light in Dom's bedroom was shining dull onto the staircase, like a tv light or bedside light turned on low. Letty felt strange as she passed Mia's empty bedroom and pushed on the door of Dom's room.

What if it was all just a joke?

A hoax to poke fun at her?

Her heart was in her throat as she peered her head around the doorframe.

Dom was laid atop his bed covers, one arm behind his head, the other on the tv remote as he channel flipped. He looked up as he felt her gaze. A smile lifted on his lips.

"Come here." His voice was soft, relaxed but deep.

Letty couldn't say no, her world had already spun on its axis at the very thought of being in Dom's bedroom, alone with him; she was too dizzy to decline the hypnotising quality he spoke with. She stepped into his domain but paused next to the bed, she was out of her comfort zone entirely.

"Here." He didn't give her much chance to feel awkward as he sat forward, fingers gently tugging at her sleeve to urge her onto the bed, his legs moving to give her the room.

The back of her legs met the mattress and she fell to the bedding. The dark blues wrapped around her with his cologne and a familiar scent of alcohol.

She took the chance of his channel flipping on the tv to roam her eyes over him.

He still wore the tank top and cargo pants he would have showcased at the races, the leather jacket that would usually accompany them thrown to the otherwise tidy floor. He looked the same as he usually did. But this was a Friday night, well, a really early Saturday morning in technicality and Dominic Toretto was at home? Alone?

There was a tear in the fabric of the universe surely. It explained why she was here.

Or, more possibly, as she noted the open beers can on the bedstand, most likely empty, as the smell suggested, Dom had swapped his indulgence in women to alcohol.

Something really wasn't right.

She'd never seen Dom drunk. Tipsy, joyous, loud and boisterous, but never drunk.

"Stay." Dom's voice found her again and she realised she'd been staring, and she wasn't the only one. His eyes were dragging over her slowly, but it was a different need in them, something deeper than just the primal lust that his body usually hosted at this time of the week.

Letty found herself toeing off her trainers and tucking her legs indian style on the bed.

"Letty…" he began something, but his mind changed as she met his eyes.

He sat forward on the bed, one leg dangling down the side, the other lined straight with her thigh. His warmth flooded her through the jeans.

If she were to speak, would she break whatever moment the gods had bestowed on her?

Dominic Toretto did not ache for her, he did not wish for her late at night. He didn't drink. Yet here he was asking for her company?

It didn't make any sense.

Considering the radio silence for the last week since their 'agreement' Letty was expecting to be forgotten entirely all over again. Not an invite into his inner sanctum.

"How's your arm?" he finally spoke again, glassy eyes lifting back to her tiredly.

"Fine." she whispered, playing with the sleeve that hid the bruising. He called her out of her lie, his body leaning forwards to her across the distance.

She prepared herself for the taunt or tease, the seductive play of words his lust would demand of her. She prepared herself to give, to chase his kisses and embrace his touch.

Instead, his fingers delicately claimed her arm, pushing the sleeve up and over the bruising.

She felt betrayed for all of a second before she realised she had a golden opportunity; a calm, relaxed Dom before her. No guise of hard ass mechanic or playboy driver.

"Are you going to court?" she asked quietly as he turned her arm in his fingers tentative grasp, eyes inspecting the fading purple and growing green.

"No." he answered, a rough pad of his thumb stroking over the worse of the bruise. It ignited all of her nerve endings, a shiver running through her back. "They have evidence of a minor traffic violation, nothing more." he continued when she thought he wouldn't.

"I'm sorry." she replied. It was her fault; she didn't know how much he would blame her for tangling him in the law's web once more.

"Don't be. It was my choice." He set her sleeve back over her arm once more, guiding it to her lap. She thought he would rescind entirely, but both of his hands remained on her body, one on her thigh, the other resting hot on her knee where she sat twisted to face him.

Silence rang and Letty started to wonder why exactly she was here.

If he needed comfort and therapy, and in no condition for his number one choice of a race track, that left his other passion in life; women. Except, he made no move to her.

His hands stayed where they sat on her jeans, his eyes cast down as he lost himself in his tangled mind once more.

Letty was no therapist for what ailed him.

As much as she hated to shatter the illusion he created for her, she needed to know.

"Why am I here?" but the second the words left her mouth she regretted them. If she broke the dream, would she lose everything? Would he kick her out and never want to see her again? Would silence have brought her closer to what she wanted from him?

Dom withdrew his hands from her.

Letty wished the clock to reverse, her speech retracted, but the seconds ticked on as Dom turned his eyes from her, stretching his arm out to his mobile, dismissing her entirely.

Her heart sank.

The perfect world had cracked down the middle, gone as fast as it had flashed into existence.

He hadn't acknowledged her for a whole week and Letty had ensured it remained that way with her pushing for answers.

Letty unfolded her legs, dignity demanded she escape with what little self-belief she had left.

She was stopped with her toes in one sneaker, a mobile nudged at her arm.

Her question of 'what?' was never formed as she fumbled to hold the mobile he dropped into her hands.

It was backlit on a message conversation.

He'd handed her his mind on a silver platter. All manner of thoughts erupted with how it was a violation into his privacy, but… this was a privacy he was dropping into her lap, literally.

Letty found the screen starting on messages of that morning, mostly about the shitty motorbike Vince was trying to repair, but within that, it was about Dom.

About his lack of concentration throughout work. About his abnormal silence. About his blissful ignorance of the latest in the line of hopeless cougars that had come for an oil change and stopped for a flirt.

Vince ribbed him for his easily irritated mood. Vince mocked his best friend for being so vacant throughout the evening. And then came the races.

Letty lived through the evening via Vince and Dom's texts.

Dom didn't want to race.

Dom didn't chase the latest skimpily dressed female to pass his way.

Dom brushed off the brunette attempting to dry hump him.

Dom didn't even _want_ to go to the races.

The last text in the conversation, after abuse for leaving early, was Vince's angry demand to know what exactly was on Dom's mind to fuck him up so much.

Letty let the phone drop from her eye sight to turn to Dom.

Whatever it was, if this was his behaviour, Vince had justifiable reason to be curious.

But how was Letty at all qualified to sort through the minefield of Dom's thoughts?

How was she to fix this?

More importantly, why had Dom pleaded with her to come over?

Why was he showing her this?

"You." Dom spoke, disrupting all Letty's eccentric theories of violence, drugs, pregnancy and disease.

"What?" Letty asked, shaking off the various avenues her brain had fallen down.

"All day…" Dom grumbled. "You're all I can think about." He looked straight into her eyes for salvation, draining all energy and effort.

Sure, there was the breath of alcohol, the sweet twinge of tipsiness that spoke in his newfound passion and irritation, but the words had been plucked straight out of Letty's wildest dreams.

"Dom…" was it true, was it real, was it everything she ever wanted? It seemed to be.

"I can't get rid of you." he grunted angrily. And the happy Letty universe was cracked once more; of course, he hated feeling that way.

He hung his head and Letty felt much the same.

It was far from the confession she had always wished for.

Gunfire on the television broke the moment. It was an old black and white gangster movie. The mob leader had finished his execution and was starting his spiel about why these idiots were dead and how precious his daughter was, something along those lines Letty was sure. But her mind was spinning into the dangerous waters of self-depreciation.

The tv clicked off and the bed moved as Dom once more stretched out on it, hand behind his head like he was the picture of ease.

Letty found him with his eyes on her once more. But she didn't tell herself it was admiration or lust. No, this time it was curiosity and frustration combined. Why her?

"Don't." Dom's fingers reached around her wrist as she made to stand up. "I don't get it." he grumbled again. "But stay."

There was no flattery, no desire and no filter to his brain.

But Letty was still entirely succumbed to Dom's spell. He could ask her to paint herself red and roll on the carpet and she'd still ask where the paint was before she'd ask why.

She felt awkward in the moment but brought herself back to sit on the bed. "Letty…" His arms reached for her once more.

Not for a kiss, not for a hug, not even to smear her with grease as he so often did at work.

No, this time, his arms wound over her biceps and he tackled, albeit very softly, her to the duvet next to him.

Positioned with a squeak of surprise Letty found herself between Dom and the wall. He rocked his body into comfort under her and she ended with her head on his bicep, staring at his pecs, as his hand snaked to sit on her waist comfortingly.

It took a while for the surprise to die and she evaluated where she was.

Laid out beside the man she had craved and dreamed of, curved against his body like she was made to be there.

Her blind shock turned to silent savouring.

Dom may be weak tonight, he may be tipsy, but this may be the only day she ever had to say she had spent time in his arms.

Whether or not he really wanted this or whether he just wanted a body to lie with, this had been something Letty wanted for a while.

If he was prepared to use her to make himself feel better, surely she could do the same?

She took a deep breath or liquor, cologne and the many smells of the races to re-establish her calm.

He was a drug she was happy to give herself in to.

A drug she found comfort in her addiction to.

A drug that wrapped itself around her as if he never wanted to let her go.

Letty's imagination was too eager to fill in the blanks, to erase the memory of his hatred towards wanting her and the convince her it was worth playing out any best case scenario it could conjure.

So Letty dared to shift her hips into comfort, she risked the wriggle to snake herself to his body.

If this was the closest she got to happiness with Dom in this life, she would accept without protest.

The awkwardness left her, the stiffness of her joints sapped out by his warmth and she relaxed entirely against him.

The room was quiet, except for the deep breathing of the man she was curled around.

She lifted her chin to find him again.

He looked like a god at peace, a smile on his lips, his eyes closed and serene, his arm banded tighter on her hips now he knew she was comfortable wrapped around him.

A peaceful contentment settled in the room.

She tested reality once more, letting her fingers stretch where they rested on his chest, over the hem of the top he wore, touching softly on the firm muscle of his pectoral.

He was real.

She jolted at the responding movement, his fingers slipping under her hoodies, resting snuggly against the bare skin of her hip.

She tested him again, stretching out her toes, barely reaching his mid calves before sliding a leg over one of his.

His answer was a roll of his thumb over her hip, agreement to the experiment that touching was a-okay.

With permission, Letty found herself incapable of resisting her exploration. Her fingers rode the slope of his chest, to the muscle on the slide of his neck. Soft, yet strong.

A contented breath escaped as her hand roamed higher, her thumb tracing the adams apple gentle, the stubble prickling her sensitive skin as she continued.

Fingers gently probed the corded muscles in his neck, fingertips rolling along the sharp jawline.

Her eyes went to his lips again, sealed with a smile she couldn't dare to break such a sight, but when would she next find herself at the mercy of those lips.

She still replayed his kiss over and over on a loop for herself.

No. She wouldn't push it too far.

She had already played with fire for too long.

She tucked her fingers back into her own hand, recoiling it into her body.

As much as she enjoyed her cartography of Dom's body, it was the touch of a virgin, one Dom would surely wish for more maturity from. Only a naïve virgin would be so amazed by each and every angle he had.

Letty chastised herself for looking like an idiot and folded her exploring hands safely away from his bow lips and angular jaw.

Fingers seized her digits before she could sash them away, it drew them back to his throat, back to where they had left. Single handedly, he uncurled each of her fingers one by one and lay them back where they were.

It could only be read as one thing; he liked her hands on him.

She wasn't going to disappoint because there were the shoulder muscles standing tall and proud begging for her to feel their firm tension. She traced down and over his bicep, pinky finger to thumb unable to meet its width despite the various attempts down his arm.

She pressed hard into the muscle, earning a huff of amusement from her canvas. She dragged her fingertips down the band of sinew, following the veins that stood up in the dull desk light.

Warm and solid, she rolled circles into him until she reached the surprising softness of his inner elbow. He shifted with the slight tickle of her feather light touch and she bypassed the sensitive patch to journal along the forearm. Her fingers danced in the dusting of dark hair to see the past. The spark marks from welding, the engine oil that despite several scrubs never seems to shift, the burns and scars from the hot engine and too many dangerous scrapes as he found his feet in the driving seat. She trailed to his hands.

Strong, firm, protective.

His knuckles were scarred from the many fights, the scabs that never properly healed, the cars that fought back.

His fingers curled with hers as she reached the end of his arm.

Short stubby fingernails with the ever-present embedded grease and mud curled around her hand.

As rough as his digits were, they passed an electric pleasure from each pad of his fingertip to her skin.

She closed her eyes with the thousand fantasies that finally found flesh.

No longer would she wonder how Dom felt touching her. No longer would she imagine his touch as her soft and uncertain exploration.

Dom was hard and rough like his fingers.

And he would spark through her like magic.

He released a deep breath and Letty flashed her eyes open, once more looking up at the god beneath her.

He looked tired.

Odd, considering it was only… Letty stretched herself a little more to see the clock on the nightstand.

But the numbers were skewed by the empty glass bottle before them.

Letty narrowed her eyes at the offending object, but found more than the time.

Vodka.

Empty.

Dom wasn't just tipsy.

He was drunk.

He'd finished a bottle of vodka?

Because of her?

Letty shrank away from the nightstand, she curled into him, hiding her face against his chest.


	15. Chapter 15

It's today! Which is slightly better than yesterday, but possibly not as good as tomorrow. Who knows?

But today has another chapter of Letty and Dom for ya.

There's drama, there's heat, there's god damn teenager low self-esteem that makes you wanna shake 'em. What more could you want from today?

Your reviews are like little peacocks hugging me; colourful, sometimes snappy, but always fun to have. Thank you!

* * *

 **Chapter Fifteen; Thunderstorm Passion**

Letty woke bolt awake to the wake-up work alarm that blared out a pop song she hated (what better motivation to get up and silence it). Then she realised she wasn't in her own bed, she wasn't in her own room, and she certainly wasn't in her house.

Sunlight was daring to creep in through the window and last night slammed into her.

The limbs around her protested the intrusion and wound around her tighter. Her bed partner was stirring and unhappy about it.

Letty wriggled an arm free and hunted the source of the repetitive song that irritated them both.

Letty fished it out from between their tangled legs, somehow having slipped from her pocket as they changed position in the night. Dom was pressed to her back like a hot teddybear, steaming her thoughts and snaring her in a spoon-hug.

It was bliss, for all of the few seconds it took her to think about her day.

Work.

Mia.

Shit, Mia!

Letty extricated herself from his limbs without waking him any further, standing on his bed to straddle the board at the foot of the bed and dismount without risking waking the sleeping bear.

Letty unlocked her phone the moment her feet found purchase on the carpet, shuffling towards her trainers once more.

She expected a text from Mia about her perfect night and journey back to her.

Instead, her phone was blank.

Had she overslept?

Letty tapped out a quick check-up text to her best friend who was also possibly engaged in the longest 'ill miss you' kiss session at his door.

"Stay." The beast in the bed grumbled, grabbing the pillow Letty had somehow ended up hugging last night and snaring it to his chest.

Letty turned to the sleeping giant.

He was still eyes closed, shying from the sun and quite possibly hungover.

Letty didn't reply, just slipped on the trainers without doing up the laces and slipped out the door.

As Letty started across the street, the text came back from Mia.

 _Crap. Your text woke me up. I'm on my way asap!_

Letty reversed her usual tracks over to the Toretto house and prepared a story about a sleepover with Mia for her mother.

Letty unlocked her front door only to find a note on the kitchen counter that wasn't there last night.

 _Your gran's being moved units. Will be with her until lunch._

Letty stood in front of the note, realising her mother hadn't even noted Letty wasn't home between her short stop into the house and quick exit to Letty's grandmothers care home.

Letty was prepared for Friday night to not have happened. She was ready for a hungover Dom to come into work and have no memory (whether he actually did or not was irrelevant) of Friday night. To play off his estranged behaviour as sickness and be cured of his demons.

Letty had mentally prepared herself to be invisible to Dom once more. That their agreement in his car had ended with her invite to his bed the day before.

Letty had even coached herself in the mirror that she had had all she was getting from Dom and her heart had no other option but to get over him.

So as she lifted the Kia's bonnet and set her hands on its frame as she overlooked the dead battery job, she was in no way prepared for Dom's distinctive sweat and cologne combination to flood her mind.

Letty's hands gripped tightly to the framework as a large hand appeared to her left, and then right, caging her.

A shiver ran up her spine at once again being victim to his presence; her heart kicking up a fuss.

Was he here to chastise her for taking advantage of his drunken mind?

Was he firing her?

Letty didn't dare turn around, she leant forward, all intentions of unhooking the battery.

She froze halfway, his breath fanning over her neck, his nose nudging her ear as his lips closed to her neck.

She hadn't seen him all day, but she figured that was to do with the hangover.

No hangover in the world could explain why his hands were leaving the metal to settle symmetrically on her hips.

There was no justification in the way he traced his lips down the column of her neck.

No explanation for why Letty forgot about the battery and stretched her neck out for him, leaning into his body like they were old lovers.

His right hand found its familiar place under her clothing, splayed on her stomach to pull her to him hard, dragging a short gasp from her. His left slid to her jaw, tilting her head so he could finally lay kisses instead of breaths on her skin. His thumb rested against her cheek softly, his fingertips weaving into the scraggy starts of the ponytail.

Finally, his lips connected to her skin in a gentle kiss, far too gentle for a man that held Dom's insatiable passion. His lips pressed long and controlled to each inch of her neckline.

No words, no expectations, just one body speaking in its primal language to the other. Hands worshipping her shape as she bowed to him.

She melted to his silent instruction like she was made for him.

Her head dropped back as his fingers left her hold on her head to follow the trail his lips had made, down her neck, over her collarbone, gliding her sternum to her décolletage.

His fingers ignited her passion in the blaze of contact.

It was like every one of her fantasies of the garage.

Where he would come to her, press her to a car and tell her how much he wanted her.

"Letty!" Mia's voice speared through her fantasy come to life "You in the back?"

Letty bolted upright, out of Dom's cradle of passion with a jolt.

Dom breathed a chuckle against her skin, his fingers dragging out each last touch as he stepped away.

His footsteps rang in her ears until Mia replaced them.

"Jesus Let, did you leave any grease in the car?" Mia scoffed, throwing one of the wet rags to her.

Letty glanced down at herself, then to the reflective surface of the Kia's side windows.

Dom had clearly not just turned up to work, his fingers must have been changing oil because it was all over her.

Letty tugged her ridden shirt down before Mia could ask why she had a perfectly shaped handprint on her stomach.

Asshole.

"I love you Let, but I am not hugging you right now." Mia laughed. "I have sandwiches though." she announced with a smile, holding up the paperbag from next door.

Sonia's sandwiches were more of loaded burgers than sandwiches and Letty had never, ever, passed one up. She wasn't starting now.

The rag was left atop the engine and Letty broke away from the scene that had absorbed her.

"So," Letty began as she took the bag from Mia and walked across into the parking lot, fully intending lunch in the sun. "How was last night?"

"You mean the _movie_ we watched?" Mia replied, her eyes cutting to the listening ears of Jesse that they passed.

"Yeah, remind me of what happened. I think I may have fallen asleep throughout it." Letty continued, but they walked further away from Jesse and easily out of earshot.

"Well, the pretty heroine." Mia followed the coded language anyway, far too cautious to not. "goes to her boyfriend's house and he's already cooking for her."

"He cooks?" Letty asked, surprised. What 16 year old cooked?!

"Yup, they made their own pizzas, completely from scratch, and he puts a giant heart shape over hers in red cheese when she isn't looking!" Mia squealed, hopping up onto the wall and into the warmth of the sunlight.

"And after eating?"

Mia does a customary and oh so guilty, scope over her shoulder and leans in.

"He said we could just get into pyjamas, watch a movie on his bed and fall asleep; nothing had to happen."

"And did it?"

"Well, I brought my short pyjamas and I figured he'd get the message that I was totally game for a little something, but he was just happy to cuddle me and watch the film, Letty." Mia gushed with a giant smile. "And I know he plays football, and lacrosse, but oh my god, Letty, his abs!" Mia squealed again. "And he absolutely sleeps shirtless."

"Did something happen?" Letty pressed, giddy in herself.

"So, the movie goes on and I'm trying to get my hands all over him."

"So you were playing hard to get." Letty joked.

"Shut up." Mia kindly elbowed the judgement with a grin. "And the movie comes to an end and nothing has happened, and I'm starting to think he genuinely meant a sleepover with actual sleeping."

"But he's a 16 year old boy…" Letty protested, digging out her burger and contemplating telling Mia to be quiet while she seduces the burger. It smelled delicious and like what heaven should smell like. Even Mia paused her story for the reverence the burger deserved. Hell, Mia's hand was into her own paper bag a second later and a giant bite was taken. Sonia knew what she was doing with her sandwiches. No wonder they did do well with business.

And the travelling transport business for the food brought business for the garage too. Letty hadn't known a thing about repairing a truck before she started with Mr T's autobody shop, now; she was pretty damn handy to truckers all over America.

"Anyway." Mia begins again around her mouthful of food. Mia was as little of a lady as Letty was at times. Sonia's sandwiches called for one of those times. "The movie ends and he turns off the light and tell me to get comfy however I like."

"So you starfish?" Letty jokes again, knowing perfectly well how much Mia liked to spread out when sleeping; it was the reason Letty slept in the bunk below and not next to Mia; there wasn't any room.

"No." A light fist nudges at Letty in reprimand and the giant un-ladylike bite of burger is swallowed for another instalment of the 'movie' that was Mia's life. "Anyway, we're cuddling, spooning a little and he asks if he can kiss me, which, yeah, of course. And we end up with me on top of him and there's a very obvious bulge that I was not going to ignore."

"And?" Letty asked, another chunk taken from her heaven burger, tomato dip dribbling down her chin and wiped quickly on the sleeve of her coveralls.

"He says we should stop again, before he gets too excited." Mia dreamily smiles. "And I said I didn't want to stop, and that I wanted to _help him_ with the consequences." Always clever in her wording, Letty wasn't surprised this was Mia's approach. "And he says I don't have to, and he is happy just to hold me and blah blah, which is super cute. So…" Mia cradled the sandwich, still savouring the taste of her first bite whilst Letty was already half down the taste of the gods. "I asked him if he'd let me touch it."

Letty paused mid-chew.

"Did he?" she resumed her mastication.

"He said he would let me do whatever I wanted, but that he'd like to return the favour if so."

"Did you?" Letty swallowed her bite and suddenly the conversation took precedent over the need for the food-gasm to continue.

"Well… I guess, kinda." Mia twisted her lip under her teeth.

"What do you mean, kinda?"

"Well, it was dark and I wasn't about to ask him to turn on the light so he could see my tummy fat." Letty rolled her eyes, there was nothing fat about Mia. "But, I unhooked my bra and… ummm, I kinda took his hands up my top."

"Did you…" the insinuation was there.

"No, and he said he wanted to give me an orgasm, but I kinda figured small steps, you know."

"And him?"

"It kinda is like a dry tongue, isn't it." Mia smiled as she spoke the cryptic confirmation. "But, he finished himself off, I don't think I was very good at it." Mia looked imploringly to Letty for understanding, but Mia was already strides ahead of anything Letty had done.

Letty turned her head to the garage, Dom was by the Peugeot, fitting the new wingmirror, eyes easily lifted to meet with hers.

Maybe Mia wouldn't be ahead of her for long. Not if Dom continued the way he was.

And Letty very much wanted him to continue.

"Did you spend some time with your mum last night?"

"Watched a movie." Letty answered shortly, and this time, it was the truth-ish. Just that the movie was in Dom's bedroom and she only watched about 5 seconds of it.

"I'm sorry for ditching you. We can absolutely get you dressed up all sexy for next Friday."

"Maybe give the sexy a rest?" Letty asked instead, turning back to her sandwich.

"You still shook up about what happened last time?" Mia whispered. Letty continued with her sandwich and Mia's arm slung across her shoulders, despite the claim she wouldn't be touching her grease at all. "Me too…" she admitted softly, her free arm bringing her another bite of lunch and another moan of happiness.

Sunday afternoon, the forecast thunderstorm came early. The rain hammered against the garage roof drumming up a tune over the distant radio. The electric lights were fighting a losing battle with the darkness of the sky.

The boys agreed to pack it up earlier than usual, nobody was trekking out to the garage in this weather.

"Com'on, I'll give you a lift." Dom's offer was perfect. It would save her getting drenched, and, hopefully would give some private insight into his mind.

Letty turned in time to catch the keys he threw to her.

Then he was moving through the garage, turning off sockets and lights.

Letty had already seen the boys scramble out a half hour ago, none of them had offered her a lift though. She scoffed a singular laugh as she pulled her jacket back over her shoulders, kicking the wrenches back in the direction of the toolbox.

Vince had a thing about the workshop being left tidy; Letty had a thing about leaving things wherever she could find them and letting Leon take the heat for it.

It was beautiful.

Dom flipped off the main light and Letty ducked out into the rain, flipping the electric locking on his car to let herself into the shotgun seat. She watched as the rain bounced on the windscreen as Dom pulled the rollers down, bending to shove the padlock into the lined holes.

The rain was warm, nothing to upset anyone, but it was bringing a thunderstorm rather than a downpour. Mia had probably scarpered home the second she heard the forecast; she wasn't a fan.

"Fucking rain." Dom grumbled as he sat himself into his car, accepting the keys Letty extended in her hands. He grinned at her. "You look good wet." he commented with a smirk before turning the engine over.

Letty braced herself for more innuendo and tease, hoping to read some truth from it.

And then came his hands to her thigh.

Gearstick slid to first gear and his hand found a place straight into her thigh, fingers wet through her jeans and scorching her.

Off to slide to second, then straight back to her, like she had tied him to a bungee.

His fingers scratched lightly, making themselves known undeniably and Letty finally lifted her eyes to meet his cheeky side glances.

If Dom could be teasing and push the bar, then, logically, she could too?

Besides, wasn't there agreement that night on his dirt track only a temporary one?

"I want more." Letty huffed out.

Dom chuckled, passing a squeeze through her thigh.

"Greedy." he commented, only taking his hand off to chance gears then it was back again.

Maybe Letty spread her legs a little wider, maybe she gave him more angle to his side to explore her further each time he took his hand off for a half second.

Dom was finally seeing her, finally she had his attentions. But she knew how quickly they could fade, he'd guaranteed her that they would. She was running out of time and she didn't even know how long was left.

Would Friday return him to the parade of girls in nothing more than designer's lingerie masquerading as clothing? Would he drink and see a pair of twins he had yet to conquer? Would he wake up from whatever haze he was in to see her and realise how his mind has changed?

He hadn't promised her anything more than a bit of fun before he broke her heart all over again. "You said you'd teach me and I want more." she reminded him.

"Do you?" he grinned, slowing for a red light and taking a long drawn look at her. "And what more is it you want?"

"Everything." she decided, aiming for firm and confident in her voice. It came out more like a question though. It didn't disrupt Dom's smile though, he rejoined the rhythm of traffic with a grin from ear to ear. "I want you to sleep with me." she re-iterated, just in case he had selective hearing today.

"We did that." he laughed.

"That's not what I mean, and you know it." she protested, sealing his hand over her leg as he found comfort in fourth gear again. He passed a glance with a raised eyebrow to her, but the humour was still prime. "God damn it, I want you to fuck me."

"It's a Sunday Let, have some respect for God." Amused with himself he slid his hand higher on her leg, nestled between the apex of her thighs, pinky finger pressed straight against her crotch. Were the denim not there, surely it would line with her slit. Letty felt herself lock up. Perhaps if she didn't move, he would continue. "You're not ready, Let." he summed with an allknowing smugness.

"I am tota-"

"How about," he began, fingers sliding down to cradle the meat of her thigh once more. "We pass a few bases before you beg me to hit a home run?"

"Bases?" Letty repeated, a little horny and a little confused; enough to make her a little angry.

"Baseball?" Dom offered.

"I know what real bases are." she huffed, sliding her legs together and the furthest from Dom the car would allow. He didn't seem perturbed, just rested his free hand lazily atop the gearstick.

"First base." he narrated, spinning the wheel with just the palm of his hand, perfect lazy driver style that she loved. "French kissing; with tongue." he explained, the sky above rumbling with incoming thunder. "Second base." he continued. "Touching." The car purred along the familiar roads, the rain hammering down continuously. "Fingering, handjobs." Perfectly unaffected, Dom flashed her a smile. Lightening flashed to her left and Letty whipped her head to it. "Third base." Dom's voice brought her back. "Oral sex. You let me eat you out." His tongue laced the words with as much sexual prowess as possible. Letty took a steadying breath as her brain threw images at her of exactly what these bases would be like. For her. For him. "And then a home run to sex." he concluded.

Letty wondered how well known this information was, she'd never heard of it like that before.

"Oh." Letty managed to vocalise, but the rain was battering the roof, silencing her speech with another roll of thunder approaching.

Where was she? She'd passed first base at least. Second, she was unsure, there wasn't really any shared pleasure there with Mr Drug Free, they didn't get that far.

Mia did. The jealous monster rose up inside her.

"You promised to teach me." Letty fired out, shouted over the rain and growling thunder. Dom just smirked, taking the route home out of familiarity rather than sight; vision wasn't great on the roads with the water. "Mia has maths tutoring Wednesday after school." Letty began. "You finish work at 12 on Wednesdays." Letty's brain was plotting ahead. Dom saw the conclusion before Letty suggested her plan. "I can skip out of sixth period and you can hold up your end of the deal."

"Perhaps." he spoke. "Maybe you can help me with dad's charger on Wednesday."

"That better be code." she grumbled out.

"Dad wants the car tuned up, you can help, or sit, watch and complain about how horny you are." he suggested. "But that's my plan for Wednesday."

Letty could have growled at him.

He'd found every excuse to have his hands on her at the garage. He'd placed himself as close as possible to her. Constantly teasing her.

He'd drag his eyes over her like she was a complex piece of art.

But then he'd blink and he'd be back to the task at hand.

For a playboy; he had found a way to play celibacy around her affections.

Dom stopped the car outside the Ortiz household, but wrapped his fingers around her arm as she tried to dart out.

She sat back in her seat, her fingers off the door release handle.

Dom turned the engine off and the rain seemed even louder.

"How far did you go Letty?" he asked, his eyes locked with hers.

It took her a second to realise what he was asking.

"None of your business."

"It is, if you're asking me for what you want."

"What does it matter if I fucked his brains out?" Letty challenged, but she saw a darkness in Dom's eyes at the suggestion, a way that his features turned hard as stone.

"How far?" he asked again, jaw set square, ready to pound some lights out.

"It doesn't matter." She ducked her head, the almost-dry hair frizzing out into her vision.

"How far?" fingers came to her thigh once more, a voice soft and comforting surprising her.

"Not very." she admitted, twisting her fingers up in her hands.

"Second base?" he guessed, eyes ducking under the curtain of hair. Letty turned her eyes to the window, to the way the rain ran in rivers down it, to the light that flashed with the lightening before darkness swallowed the afternoon again. "First?" he downgraded with surprise in his voice.

"Does it matter?" she huffed again, shuffling out of his touch. "Shouldn't you be going home instead of bugging me about what I did with other guys?" cornered and vulnerable, Letty lashed out back at him.

Dom didn't seem bothered though, there was a relief painted on his features, a calm she didn't know exist cover him. "Whatever." Letty unclipped the seatbelt and reach for the door again, preparing herself for the downpour.

"Your mother not in?" Dom asked, peering around her through her window.

"Probably at the shop."

"Your lights aren't on." he continued. "Want me to check the fuse box?"

"No." Letty was quick to answer, pulling on the door and sliding herself out in one smooth move. She slammed the door shut behind her and ran to the small awning above the door.

Dom's headlights didn't move an inch until she was inside with the hallway light lit.


	16. Chapter 16

I heard you guys might want more?

At least, I _think_ thats what the reviews were begging for...

* * *

 **Chapter Sixteen; Something to Watch**

Sunday evening didn't get better. Her mother had her panic radar on the second Letty slammed the bread bin a bit too hard, digging into the emotional turbulence she hadn't addressed in a while.

"Letty hun." Letty froze, she wasn't expecting her mother to be home in full honesty, she certainly didn't hear her come in. "You're alright, aren't you?"

"Of course, mama." Letty replied, as happily as she could inject into her voice. Her mother was pulling off her rain coat, toeing off her work shoes in the kitchen doorway. Letty made a mental note to put them back by the door.

Letty took her PB&J sandwich into the living room, her mother followed.

A mental note was taken of the handbag she could see sitting on the stairs forgotten and abandoned, the umbrella that would not dry as it was currently positioned and the purse her mother had left by the front window for any opportunistic thief to rehome.

"Letty, if you w-"

"There's coffee grounds in the pot ready." Letty suggested and her mother redirected herself to the kitchen.

Sandwich forgotten, Letty re-arranged her mother's destruction into order and security.

When Letty came back, she noted the pile of damp laundry on the dining room table that was never used, the airer unfolded next to it, but not dressed yet.

From the sounds of it, her mother was attempting to make pasta in the kitchen. Obviously she'd started one job and forgot it for another.

The intent was clear, the act unfinished though.

Letty started shaking out the clothes and laying them on the airer in turn.

Her mother re-appeared with a bowl of pasta as Letty was finishing. The sight triggered her memory and she set the pasta down to help Letty with the last of the socks.

"Sorry sweetie, I got a text and forgot." It amazed Letty how her mother kept a job. Clearly, her absent mind wasn't all that absent at work. "Are you sure you are okay though?"

"I'm fine."

"You seem off."

"I'm fine, honestly. Just tired."

Her mother ran her gaze up and down her.

"There's pasta for you."

"I'll get some." There was little point in reminding her she walked in on Letty making a sandwich; it was unnecessary guilt to add.

"I know I'm not around much." Her mother sat down on one of the dining chairs that were hardly ever used. "I know I forget things." Her arm went to the washing. "And I know you pick up a lot of things you shouldn't be doing at your age. And I know I'm not winning mother of the year." Her mother hid her face, turned away for a moment of weakness before the latino spirit urged her to be a red hot honest as she needed to be. "Aunt Carol rang." Letty froze as well, this wasn't going to end well. "She thinks we should move back in with her. At least move closer." Her mother sighed heavily and prodded the pasta. "She thinks we might need the help." Then a correction. "That _I_ may need the help." Letty said nothing. Aunt Carol lived five hours away. Any move closer to Aunt Carol would mean no more Mia, no more Dom, no more work, no school where she would only get detention for punching Maddison Hanson. No more routine.

It meant Aunt Carol's two girls hanging around with her, asking why she liked cars, why she didn't mind mud and why she didn't know the difference between designer A and designer B.

"Letty," her mother called back her attention. "What do you think?"

"I like it here." Letty fiercely spoke, determined to change her mother's easily swayed mind for good. "We're fine." But her mother had guilt on her features. "There's nothing wrong with us." Letty sighed at the clothes, mostly work ones her mother had shoved in an emergency wash when she realised she was out. "You're a single parent with an important job. If you were around all the time, you wouldn't be doing your job."

"Maybe I'm just being silly…" her mother suggested, her fingers stroking at her sternum, where she used to hang her wedding ring whilst working; it hadn't sat there for a long while. "Besides, we could never leave this house. Too many happy memories." Letty could see the lie in her mother's eyes, but she could see the desperation beneath it, as much as this house hurt her every day, she couldn't leave it. "I… uhhhhh… I should turn in." but Letty heard the way she choked up in her words, the clear sign her lost husband was flaring to her mind once more.

"Night mama." But her mother was already halfway up the stairs.

* * *

Letty was inexplicably excited for the idea of Wednesday. Nothing had been arranged, but there was a possibility in the air. And the possibility was intriguing.

Well, it was a possibility until Mia told her her tutee had flu and had cancelled, which meant they were planning a film evening now. She was even in good enough spirits to permit something outside the usual romcom genre. It was great, but it did bring a small shadow of regret to Letty. She _could_ be out in the garage with Dom right now. Instead of stealing glances through the window to where he worked on the charger.

"No, I want something exciting!" Mia protested as she passed yet another movie on the tv screen.

"You get scared at exciting." Letty laughed, returning to her seat.

"Not today. Today I am totally ready." Mia claimed, phone in hand as she passed the remote to Letty. "Find something good, I'll start the popcorn."

Letty scrolled through the actions and comedies that Mia had dubbed 'violent' because they weren't purely rom-com based.

"Horrors?" Letty called into the kitchen, already knowing the answer.

"I said good!" Mia protested loudly. "Watching some zombie eat your face is not good!"

Letty wasn't the biggest fan herself, she watched a slasher flick once and had nightmares all week. Zombies however, were laughable.

Just not to Mia.

Letty scrolled on as the cupboard doors slammed and clicked. Finally Mia's face came to peer into the lounge with a frown.

"No popcorn."

"We can just have the jelly snakes and gummy bears." Letty suggested, knowing the state of Mia's super-secret stash cabinet.

"No, we can't." Mia flopped herself into the nearest chair, obviously already having thought along the same hormonal lines. "Dom ate them."

Speak of the devil, and he doth appear, through the door, sweaty and grumpy. Mia instantly turned on him.

"You ate the last of the popcorn!" the accusation was entirely evidence based, it didn't stop Dom's eyebrows raising in fake innocence, a hand slapped across his chest as if her words wounded him.

"Me?"

"And the sweets I bought!" Mia was up and jabbing a finger at his chest. " _You_ need to replace them."

"No, I don't." he chuckled and moved past her to set his keys on the table.

Mia was quick to lift the keys back into hand and thrust them against his chest hard.

"Get your stinky butt in your stinky car and be a good brother for a few minutes of a car ride to the store and pay what you owe." Mia growled. The Toretto passion extending as far as gummy snake ownership rights.

"Mi, I've been at the garage fighting under a piece of shit car to change the filthiest exhaust you've ever seen. I will smear my hands all over you if you don't let me get a shower."

"What about my gummy bears?!" she demanded but took a step back from him. "We need them or Letty will have to find another romance for us to watch."

Whatever logic it made to Mia's brain, Dom crossed his eyes into the living room, where Letty was idly turning movies on the screen, her attention clearly on their argument.

"Fine, if it saves Letty from another shitty movie." Dom reached into his back pocket and took some bills out of the wallet. He set them carefully to the kitchen table. "Popcorn and gummy snakes." he insisted like he had any control over what his money bought. Then he paused and another bill joined the table. "And twizzlers. _For me_." he punctuated clearly.

"You're my favourite brother." she mocked with a smile, taking the money before it disappeared. "Letty, choose a good film. I'll be back ASAP." Mia shoved her feet into her shoes and vanished out the door at a run before her brother could change his mind.

Letty was more family than friend at this point, she had been abandoned by Mia in the Toretto house more times than she could count. A sister, not a burden.

Though the last time she was without Mia in this house…

Her eyes followed Dom's exit to the staircase.

Dom had some good movies.

It was totally legitimate to barge into his room and borrow them, while they were alone in the house.

She could steal another kiss if she was lucky enough.

Letty passed a glance to the door, as if to see Mia returned, but knowledge said it would be a good 15 minutes, maybe 20 if she dithered over the indulgence of ice-cream as she usually did.

Her feet were fast up the stairs and she nudged open Dom's ajar door without any more announcement than the creaking floorboards.

"Letty." he greeted, a smile in his voice though his back was to her, his hands on the hem of his shirt, the jacket on the bed, thrown astray.

"Can we borrow a movie?" Dom had good DVD's, the kind you could watch and watch again. The ones that didn't revolve around some insipid story of 'will they, won't they'.

"That all you want?" he asked knowingly, pulling the dirty tank from him, the muscles of his back dancing as he stretched up to the ceiling to pull it off him.

"You replace the Citroen's exhaust?" she changed the conversation, wandering further into his bedroom to sit on his bed.

"Yep." he replied shortly, turning back to her with a smile. "Welded the bracket back into place too. Idiot had it almost dragging along the road."

"Thought it was booked for Saturday?" It had her name on, so she would know.

"Got a cancellation, it got moved up." He sat himself into the desk chair, legs spread wide, knowing grin on his face. "Problem?"

"No." Not if she'd end up smelling like he currently did. It wasn't bad, but it was a little bit too smoky to be the newest cologne. "Movies?" she asked, seeing he was intent on his place slouched in the swinging desk chair than standing back up, she crossed over to him.

"Not many Mia approved ones." he announced with a sigh. But her attention was on the abs on showcase. Her steps were aiming towards the goal of another rocketfire kiss. Said steps landed her in the cradle of Dom's open thighs.

Confidence, she reminded herself.

Dom had women all over him at the races, they approached and he gave them _everything_ they asked for.

Confidence would sell her down the river of sin.

He rose an eyebrow playfully. "Not that my sister would approve of anything on your mind right now." he teased, leaning forward to her. "or mine." His hands had snaked from the arms of the chair, creeping around her hips to rest on her ass, dragging her the inch or two closer until she was in his personal space just how he liked.

She didn't need to ask what was on his mind, it was clear in the way his eyes raked across her like she was naked and exposed before him; and he loved what he saw.

His hands travelled higher, under the shirt she wore, pulling her towards him until she had no choice but to raise her leg from the hard seat.

Dom was quick to capture her, guiding her leg on the outside of his thigh, the other begged to comply and all too eager to go until she sat straddling him, hands on bare shoulders, height raised until his lips connected and she sunk to him all too easily.

He surged into her body where it sat cradled against him, his hands dragging her closer to him, her jacket buttons pressed firmly to his bare chest.

His tongue stroked along hers and she rose up on him, the angle of the kiss changed and deeper, his lips sucking on her bottom lip before he was back twisting tongues.

Letty's hands were finally understanding the scratch marks Dom had come into work sporting after she'd first met him. She'd asked Vince who attacked Dom and Vince had laughed his head off at her, told her she'd understand when she was older.

Guess she was finally older.

His hands slipped under her jacket and top, splaying on the small of her back, easily urging her to cradle against him once more.

But the kiss was scorching her senses, all she wanted to do, was prove she was good enough.

Her body craved more, the heat between her legs demanded she see to it. The sense flew from her head and it was only when he stood with her in his arms that she realised she was grinding against his crotch like a dog in heat.

Letty found herself against his bed again, this time under his large frame, guided by his strong hands and with a knee planted between her legs. His lips were still whispering for more, his hands pushing under her top and over her stomach. She answered every call her body screamed for, her tongue chasing the motions his made, her hips grinding shamelessly against his thigh and nails skimming over his broad back.

There was life, there was warmth, there was hope she could finally have Dom.

And then there was nothing.

She opened her eyes to a killer smirk.

A hand pushed on her hips stilling the motion against him once more.

"I think we can firmly tick off first base." he spoke against her lips. A quick peck of a kiss silence her protesting answer. "I'm going to shower, you're going to find something to watch." Letty felt the breeze of unsatisfied lust trickle over her as watched the tail end of the towel fly from the door as Dom left with it.

Hot to cold, Letty felt her anger follow her lust.

What the hell?

Find something to watch? That was it?!

And just next door, Dom was stripping off clothes, he would be naked with what she definitely felt was a hard on and he just walked away.

No.

Letty agreed with herself not to rock the boat and spoil whatever she had, but her horny, needy mind craved a little more.

Confidence won her a prize earlier.

What would he say if she walked into the bathroom, started stripping off her clothes and demanded he fuck her?

He wouldn't decline right? He couldn't.

He hardly ever did for any other woman that asked him.

Letty found her feet out of his bedroom before she could flesh out the fantasy in her head.

She was stood before the bathroom door when she heard the shower turn on and the glass door slide shut.

Dom, naked… wet…

Hesitation stopped her from barging in. Was it a violation of privacy? Was it crossing a line? Or was it just pro-active engagement in what she wanted?

But her thoughts were wasted, logically, he wouldn't leave the door unlocked… right?

But the lust demon on her shoulder didn't accept guesses, it snaked into her body and demanded she force open the door and join him in the shower.

Letty bit her lip as she dithered outside the bathroom.

Did she dare?

Letty fully expected the door to be locked anyway.

But the door opened. Letty considered turning back, she hadn't ever imagined the invite to be so open.

But then came a groan, soft and guttural, but most definitely a moan.

Letty's eyes spun straight to the shower in the inch of the door she had open.

Her stomach pulled tight at the sight. Shock locked her where she was, amazement held her pinpoint focus.

Naked and in his full glory, Dom stood under the shower's spray, water spilling down his body, steam beginning to rise from the cubical.

She dared another inch of view, his back to her and an arm moving repeatedly in front of him, the bicep dancing in the shimmer of the waterfall.

Letty squeezed her thighs together; this was more than she expected, a tension building in her at the very idea he could be doing what her imagination supplied.

He turned, back to the shower wall and Letty got the full front shot of his actions.

Her hand slapped over her mouth dare she make a sound.

Her mouth was dry, her blood pumping in her ears.

His hand moved backwards and forwards, erection in hand.

And he was thick.

Letty had seen pictures, she'd seen videos when she stumbled off the beaten track of the internet and pop-ups taunted her virginity. But this… everyone always said bigger was better, that longer was more pleasure. But holy moly, nobody mentioned how thick they could be.

There was no way it would fit into her.

Despite that, Letty was still clenching her thighs together, knowing she was getting wet.

She watched on in sinfully voyeuristic pleasure as he sped up his movements, his thumb swirling around the head and drawing additional sounds from him.

Letty bit down on her thumb, she wanted to be there, to wrap her fingers around him, to be the one making him moan.

Every sound called out on a primal level to her.

She wanted to be there.

Is this what Dom liked?

The quick strokes back and forth, the rubbing thumb over his slit?

Letty's teeth imprinted on her hand as she dared to believe one day she would be doing this to him. She'd be the reason he was throwing his head back against the tiles, screwing his eyes tight and rapidly stroking himself.

Letty jumped as his hand suddenly slammed to the shower wall, a string of musical notes released in a groan as his body coiled tight.

Her own body tensed, her breathing hard and fast, her heart beat thundering, her need blooming like fire.

She couldn't think straight at all. The world was spinning as she watching him slowly pump himself before dropping his head and hands back under the spray.

Letty found the sense and strength in her jelly legs to close the bathroom door and zombie walk to his bedroom as he reached for the shampoo.

She caught herself in the small shaving mirror on his dresser; fire engine red cheeks, dazed eyes and ragged breathing.

Oh god.

Letty crashed on his bed, his scent crashing into her as she breathed deep to regain brain functioning from her lust overdose.

* * *

Letty was sat on the sofa downstairs when the bathroom door finally opened again. She was still firey red cheeked when his bedroom door clicked shut.

She'd grabbed the first three films stacked atop his dresser and ran out of there like her pants were on fire.

Letty felt like she'd just robbed a bank and gotten away with it, stolen goods in hand. There was the high of victory, but the guilt of her act. She knew it was wrong, but damn it, it felt so good.

So, so good.

She wanted to be the one to give him such pleasure.

And yet, selfishly, she wanted it returned as well. She could close her eyes and imagine Dom's fingers between her legs, his smug grin on his lips as she came for him.

It was a fantasy she had entertained before.

She wasn't naïve. She had explored her own body, she had played with the sensations that had her nipples standing tall from her chest. Letty had taken her fingers between her legs and felt the wetness fantasies of Dom caused. She'd brought herself pleasure with her hand imagined as his.

But Letty had never felt pleasure anywhere like what Dom had in the shower.

She wanted his knowledge, his experience, his earth shattering talent.

But… her fingers felt huge inside her.

There was no way the monster he had in his boxers would fit… right?

An electric shudder hugged her body and she re-crossed her legs.

Dom knew exactly how to get her hot and bothered without even touching her. Without even being aware of it.

"You would not believe the audacity of some people!" The front door opened with Mia's huffed rage. "No cookie dough. No cookie dough!" she repeated, jaw dropped and outraged. "What kind of supermarket does not stock cookie dough ice-cream?!" Mia continued, upturning the plastic bag of goodies on the dining room table. "I am ashamed to be seen in that kind of establishment." Mia pulled two bowls from the cupboard. "I am in the right mind to complain to the manager!" Mia huffed again. The sound of sweeties and chocolate chips scattered out into the dishes equally. Sugar, calories and e-numbers combined in beautiful unison for the ultimate snack. "How can I make sugar mountain without cookie dough ice-cream?" Sugar mountain was a giant spoonful of ice-cream with 'lava' sweets spilling from it.

"Sugar lava is more than fine." Letty laughed, turning the tv to the DVD channel.

"Well, I'm introducing sugar cloud-land." Mia announced and appeared into the living room archway with two bowls of sweets topped with a giant cloud of cotton candy.

"I love it." Letty grinned.

"I'm a genius, I know." Mia agreed. "You want a coke?"

With a nod from her best friend and some muttering about sugar mountain/cloud-land hybridization Mia returned to the kitchen.

She was replaced with her brother, a twizzler between his teeth, water drips on his shirt and tantalizing aftershave invading her mind.

Letty was catapulted right back into the Toretto bathroom, her perverted mind dragging each item of clothing from Dom once more.

"You find something good to watch?" he asked, wandering over to the dvd's she had laid out on the coffee table.

Did she ever.


	17. Chapter 17

Darlings! It's me again. Another week, another chapter.

I hear you guys are revved up for second base. You cheeky monkeys! Y'all make me blush.

So, I'm about 10 chapters ahead at the moment, it would be more but there's a beautiful puddycat that claims my knee when I sit down, it makes typing hard. Anyway, I will aim for some quality laptop time, but if needs be I may slow down posting a tad so you don't end up withdrawals. But this WILL be finished. I don't think i'm physically capable of leaving a story unfinished. So rest easy, I will see this through to finish.

* * *

 **Chapter Seventeen; Cracked**

Friday came around and Letty was convinced she would be losing Dom. She sat on the fire escape with Mia in sexy-casual wear, discussing the latest high school gossip. But Letty was reminding herself of the deal she made.

Dom wasn't going to change anything about himself for her.

He was only here until she couldn't take anymore of his man-slut nature.

So Letty watched the impending car crash to her heart as every babe in heels and barely there clothing rounded her man like sharks in a pool.

Every time one touched him, she felt like her nerves were going to kill her.

He was right, he didn't change; he flirted, he caressed, he teased. His body language was a giant green light.

Vince was sitting smug on his Maxima, convinced the statistical error in his boy's behaviour a week ago was a fluke and nothing more. He had probably already written it off as a sick day.

The tigers were prowling for pussy once more.

Letty could kick herself for not shoving herself into that shower with him. Mia might have caught them. He might have said no. She might have slipped and cracked her head open and spent the night in A&E explaining she had no control over her hormones.

But… he might have said yes. He might have given her what she wanted.

He might not be staring at the girls that swayed her hips hypnotising his dick into wanting them.

But her regret was taking a sledgehammer to her heart anyway.

And now, Letty had missed her chance.

He had said he wouldn't change. He had said he would break her heart.

Why did she expect any different?

"He does _not_ look old enough to drive." Mia noted curiously.

Letty tuned into Mia, following her gaze to the latest idiot signing himself up with Hector to take on the racing champ.

Dom's next contestant looked as new as his car. All flash and no experience.

He still had chub in his cheeks, stood almost a foot shorter than Dom and was all over smelling of wasted money; even from where the girls sat.

"That's the guy Dom copied his car for." Letty offered, remembering him from Vince's abusive description and the way Vince was currently laughing at him.

"Idiots should get a real hobby instead of wasting their money."

"People are idiots." And they were wasting their money betting on anybody to beat Dom. But Hector kept taking the money, writing down in his little black book as he totalled up Dom's soon-to-be-winnings.

People wanted to believe Dom's talent was a tricked out car and nothing more; this was the race to prove them wrong.

The kid was likely to get himself killed misusing the stuff Dom handled with skill.

But there was just no educating some people.

Women in stilettoes tottered over to Dom, cooing over his cool exterior, his cold façade as he instructed Hector to validate the cars to be equals. Like a magician before a trick; they established the only difference was the driver.

It would _all_ be talent tonight.

It brought in a tight crowd, it brought in piles of money and it brought a deft silence as the cars rolled up to the line.

Dom had insisted the two girls stay on the fire-escape. High enough to see the action, to be easily spotted by his troops and threatened if they decided to leave.

The view didn't suck, but there was no smell of engine grease, no crystal clear purr as Dom revved up to the newcomer. No smell of Dom's cologne.

Letty sighed and dropped her chin to her folded arms on the railings.

The usual racer slut stepped up to Dom's window, leaning her chest through and begging to give his good luck kiss.

Letty focussed in on it, ready to memorize her face to 'accidentally' trip the next time their paths crossed. But Dom's lips never made contact with hers. Nobody else seemed to notice as the blonde withdrew with an expression of shock. Nobody saw what Letty couldn't tear her eyes away from.

Was his blonde phase over?

"We all know Dom's going to win. Again." Mia grumbled. "I don't see why we need the male posturing pantomime." The revving and egotistical attempts to rattle the other were in full swing on the start line.

Dom called something out of the car window to the blonde. Letty watched as the blonde came over between the cars, then giggled before slipping her hands under her mini skirt. A second later she was dragging a thong down her legs and on Dom's instruction, she threw it into the car of his competitor.

Probably some mind fuck along the lines of 'this is as close as you'll get to winning tonight' taunt.

Letty scratched all hope from her mind again as the blonde bent herself at the waist, her ass and everything that was now not covered shoved directly Dom's way. And as predicted, his eyes followed the line of sight every man was wishing they had.

Presuming the carpet matched the drapes; his blonde phase wasn't over at all.

Letty tore her eyes away, finding Mia tapping out on her phone again.

"Alex still upset you're at the races?" she asked.

"Not so much, apparently, and I quote ' _At least your brother has the right idea'_ when I told him we were exiled up here for the entire race."

"You pissed at him?"

"More pissed that I'm not reliving last Friday again." Mia slouched back against the brick wall, unsettled in mood. "It was perfect Letty, truly perfect. And yet, there was so much more we could have done. We should have done." Mia huffed out. "I don't know when I'll next be able to stay over like that and I should have done more."

"You did precisely what you wanted to do last friday." Letty reminded her. "And you know you'll get another chance. It might not be overnight, but, you'll have plenty of time."

"I suppose." Then with Mia's lightning mood and thought process. "What do you think of matching underwear?" The crowd roared and the girls looked up to see the cars finally roar over the start line; the race underway.

"Ummm, I don't know?" Letty guessed.

"It's sexy though… I wonder how expensive it is." Mia was enthralled by her mobile exploration of lingerie sites while Letty watched the cars travel further from sight. Dom wasn't even pushing his vehicle. He was playing with the other driver, a taunt and tease. That he didn't even need to try to beat him.

The kid tried to undercut him, tried to shove past him and drive him into a wall. But their dance was just another day out in his car for Dom. He took every trick with a flair of grace in his evasions.

The kid must have been boiling mad at that point.

It explained why he drove his car into Dom's rear, succeeding only in spinning himself into a dumpster before losing control and flipping the car one entire roll.

It was no surprise when Dom crossed the finish line at a crawling 5 mph, egotistical and high on winning.

The kid was protesting, claiming foul, but Dom was taking the keys from him and throwing them to Vince to claim the ride.

Dom just won himself a new car, identical quality to his own- besides all the bodywork damage from the dumpster and idiot driver.

When Hector came over with the money winnings from the bets placed, Dom claimed his percentage and rose his eyes straight up. Direct to Letty, piercing her with a sharp clean look.

There was a grin that stretched from ear to ear.

Leon and Jesse jumped onto him in celebration and Dom rejoined them for his victory party.

What did it mean?

Things only became more complicated when Dom called for the party back at his house to be family only. Vince's earlier assessment of his best friend's mental health must have been called for re-evaluation when he passed up the victory girls that promised him a threesome- foursome? Was there such a thing as a fivesome, because there were plenty of girls with no dignity all offering themselves into a huge sex-sandwich with a Dom filling.

The girls were winding down for bed, sitting aside from the boys as they discussed the pro's and con's of matching underwear at the kitchen table whilst the boys played the latest racing game, tournament style.

Spirits were high. Spirits had been poured. And spirits would be battered when the noise complaint came in.

When Vince beat Dom by a half a second, the uproar could have deafened the girls; but it was the spark Vince needed for his hair trigger temper to demand answers.

"Admit it!" Vince demanded, harsh and drunk, a finger jabbed at his best friend's chest in a way that had the attention of everyone in the room. Even the girls stopped their chatter and lifted their eyes from the tablet where Mia had been browsing prices.

"That you've had too many?" Dom guessed smartly, stepping back from his brother in arms.

"No, you need to admit something's wrong." Vince hounded, giving Dom no space to back up, instead chasing each step he took.

Mia passed Letty a raised eyebrow; in the style of 'since when did boys talk about their feelings?' Letty just shrugged back, both firmly focussed on the escalating situation.

"You wanna keep going?" Dom asked, his compliance gone. His arms crossed his chest, male posturing kicked up another notch.

"We all know something is fucked with you." Vince extended his hand to encompass the full brotherhood around him. Mia had dragged Letty to the living room arch, they stood in the frame to see Leon and Jesse cast their eyes down, allowing Vince to tackle whatever was wrong. Vince wasn't one for holding back. "You were drowning in pussy, and now, you won't touch it."

Letty felt her heart skip. Mia met her eyes as if to indicate how juicy the following gossip was going to be. Letty had no doubt it would be heart stopping, but who's heart was still unknown.

They watched as Dom unfolded his arms slowly, pointedly slowly, a first silent warning for Vince to step down, because now; fists were ready to fight. Vince was usually turfed out or down to the basement to sleep it off when he was this drunk; too much didn't agree with his temper. But it seemed the big win had given Dom greater lenience to his foul mouthed brother and his beer to mouth movements. "You didn't even call the _twins_ back." he spoke like it was the greatest violation one could commit as a man.

"Look." Leon tried to be a peacemaker and step between the two men. "If it's the arrest bothering you just say."

"You said it was a minor traffic violation." Mia spoke, nudging herself into the room, drawing the attention of the group.

"It is." Dom spoke, softer for his sister than he would have answered the brothers grilling him. "It's a fine at worst."

"So what the fuck is wrong with you?" Vince resumed his place in the spotlight and commanded Dom's attention with a push to his chest. "'Cos it sure ain't a girl."

"Say what you wanna say." Dom challenged, meeting Vince square, fingers curled to fists, body positioned to take a blow.

"Hell, I'll say it." Vince rose to the challenge easily, the alcohol jacket instilled a false bravado that didn't suit him.

Leon stepped back, an arm extended to draw Mia back with him. The way this was going, Mia shouldn't be within arm's swinging distance.

"You hitting for the other team?" Vince snapped.

"Batting." Jesse corrected quietly from the sofa. Nobody paid any attention to him.

"Problem if I am?" Dom barked.

Both men seemed to be making themselves as large as possible, crowding each others space.

Letty saw the threat of violence rising with each second of silence that dragged on. Vince had a twitch in his fingers which was aching to rip free the alcohol anger he was compressing.

The silence lasted a bit too long to be friendly banter anymore, Leon stepped back in, an arm reached out to each man, ready to pull them apart, but respectful enough to not make contact… yet.

"No." Leon firmly put Mia far behind him and the argument, out of the danger. "It's not a problem." Leon stood diffusing the situation like the countdown timer on the bomb was flashing single digits. "Vince is just drunk."

A scoffed laugh came from Vince, a cocky sound as he rocked on his feet.

"No, we got a problem."

Letty flashed her eyes from Vince's attitude to the way Leon stepped back with a defeated groan; the digits had finished their countdown, the place was about the blow. "You know, you go through all the girls." Vince began, a clear slur to his words. "And now, you want all the boys." Then a smile claimed Vince's face. "And I'm not even on your list?" he laughed through his mockingly dejected face.

Drunk.

Dom let out a held breath and turned from Vince as he laughed himself out of stability and onto the sofa face first.

He didn't expect to turn into his little sister with a straight look on her face. A look that he remembered from the times she ratted him out to their father the various truths he'd tried to hide.

"You've got a girlfriend." Mia accused, but her quiet tones of realisation had the logical penny dropping for each of them. Even Vince stopped his laughing and sat up.

"Holy shit!" Leon exclaimed, reason, rational and explanation coming together in a blinding flash. "You got a girlfriend." he repeated.

"You got a girl?" Vince asked, confused again, the world moving too fast for his drunken state.

"Do we know her?" Jesse continued the questions, making his way over and away from Vince.

"I don't know how I didn't see this." Mia spoke, mostly to herself, but heard by the other men. "You tidied your room. You even cleaned out the car."

"I don't have a girlfriend." Dom refused, but the jury of peers weren't convinced.

"This explains the races." Leon added to Mia's revelations.

"The twins." Vince contributed, amazed before slouching back to the sofa.

"Explains the girl, the one with her yellow thong." Jesse offered.

"Was lime green." Leon corrected, throwing only a shrug back when Jesse provided a 'what the fuck difference does that make?' look.

"I don't have a girlfriend." Dom firmly reinstated, not that he thought any of them would believe him tonight.

"Maybe not officially, but you're making an effort for some unlucky person." Mia offered clarity once more. "I feel sorry for her." A hand to her hip, Mia met her brother's eyes with a hatred only a sibling could muster. "Whichever loser is stupid enough to believe you can do anything more than screw them over deserves what's coming." Bottles and cans clattered and Mia paused to whirl to where Vince was stumbling from the sofa to the floor. She whipped back to her brother a heartbeat later. "You don't do faithful, you don't do relationships and you never will. You should get rid of her before you break her heart and she breaks our windows." Mia spun on her heels. "Com'on Letty, Dom needs to get Vince to bed before he decorates the walls with puke. And then he needs to write his inevitable apology letter for his stupid girlfriend."

Letty had been happy enough to be a fly on the wall, but she took Mia's lead and followed her to the stairs.

She finally looked up to meet Dom's gaze.

She passed him a smile, not reading into the way his eyes seemed sad, or his pride seemed cracked.

She knew what she was getting into, she had no false beliefs. Just hope that needed to keep itself in check. Letty reminded herself that she knew the reality of how it would end; with short notice and Dom inside some other girl. Dom himself had warned her as such.

It didn't stop Mia's words from hurting any less, but at least preparation would guard her heart, she hoped.

Mia stomped her feet on every step, completely missing the slurred words from Vince of 'did I upset Mia?'. Mia would have given him hell for it if she heard it; she hated Vince drunk; he respected no personal boundaries at all.

The second Mia's bedroom door shut, Letty found herself ensnared into a tight hug. Letty's breath ran out of her and she numbly lifted her arms to return the hug.

"I am so sorry." Mia started. "I know how much you like Dom, and I know I said he'd never have a girlfriend, but trust me, whoever it is, it isn't going to end well for her. It'll all be over as soon as he puts his dick in someone he shouldn't." Mia's vice like snake hug held her together when her words threatened to shatter her again. "For your sake, and hers, I hope it's sooner rather than later." Mia wouldn't realise her words of comfort were salt to an open wound.

Letty reminded herself that she knew how it would end; she had been guaranteed it.

It didn't stop the way Letty fell asleep hugging the pillow and wishing it would offer more than just a squishy shape to rest on.

Letty didn't expect smooth sleep, but she didn't expect to be awakened from a floating-like slumber to Mia's door opening. Letty cracked her eyes open preparing a biting lash of her tongue if one of the boys had stumbled in drunk. But it wasn't a drunken male seeking an urgent bathroom break and the form made its way silently across to the bunk, crouching down to her level.

Dom met her eyes, the slither of light from the hallway illuminating his features as soft and apologetic.

"Vince's asleep on the sofa." he passed the information across, whisper quiet. "If you hear puking; he has a bucket; he's fine."

Letty nodded; she was the only one in the house that slept light.

The Toretto family did not have that gene at all.

Letty felt fingers weave with her own. She lifted her eyes back to Dom's, confused.

She saw a lot of things. None of which she liked.

"It's okay." Letty whispered, giving him an answering squeeze. "We made a deal." The words were barely audible, if the stars aligned to wake Mia up; she didn't need to hear this. Letty extracted her fingers from him, tucking them back into the duvet, away from the cuddle they had been giving the pillow in her sleep.

It took him a few seconds, but Dom nodded to himself and stood, taking his time leaving Mia's room. He stood in the doorway for a few seconds longer, even leaving Mia's bedroom door open.

An invite?

Letty was too emotionally injured and not brave enough tonight to follow him across the landing and spend another Friday night in his bed; as much as she wanted to; they needed boundaries before her heart crashed and burned to a cinder.

Dom paused at his bedroom door, he felt like Vince had started a steamroller rolling over him, slowing squeezing the life out of him. He wanted Letty to follow him down the hallway, to come to spend another night with him, the next one after that as well. Dom left his door ajar as he toed off his shoes. He'd been happy with the 'fuck and duck' for so long. The variety of women before him was too vast and too many to only try one. Much like a child making a choice of candy in a sweet shop; he wanted to try them all. But tonight had been much like his last Friday, much like every day since he'd planted that kiss to Letty Ortiz; he wanted a flavour he was already familiar with.

He'd seen Letty as a woman since he first met her, he wanted her the same way he wanted the latest racing game or the newest tech for his car. He wanted her like he wanted any woman that paraded past him. Only Letty was his sister's best friend. So Letty's brand of candy was put on the top shelf, out of reach for… licking?

Dom smirked at his metaphor.

Letty really should stay there. The last thing he wanted was to break up his family; as his father had previously warned him.

Letty was not available.

Dom paused, hands on his jeans.

He'd agreed to take her from the shelf so he could get her out of the shop entirely.

That was what they agreed, right.

Dom crossed the room to shut his door to the frame; they agreed on fun and nothing more.

But as Dom pushed the jeans down his legs to pool on the floor, he couldn't help but see Letty's face; the dejected expectation as his little sister unknowingly slated her.

She didn't even blink in horror or shock. She didn't throw a fit. She didn't protest or try to defend her position. She dared to lift the very corner of her lips in a smile as she passed him.

And it felt _horrible_.

Dom sat on the edge of his bed, socks tugged off and tshirt quickly following.

Mia had shamed Letty and all Dom had wanted to do was prove her wrong.

With a sigh, Dom let himself drop to the mattress, an arm thrown over his eyes as he breathed deep.

Was that what Letty saw him as?

Why did he want to change that?

Why did it make him hurt so much?

Shame curled around him as it often did when he thought of Letty.

His mind provided him with the perfect remedy for his gloom.

If only Letty's tiny fingers would curl around his door, pushing her body into his room.

If she would tiptoe across his carpet and crawl into his bed.

If she'd ask him to scoot over and wrap his arms around her.

If she'd lay next to him and whisper how much she missed him, how much she wanted him.

It scared him, but, it was a thrilling comfort at the same time.

He wanted it.

He wanted the virgin sweet and devilishly tempered best friend of his sister.

He wanted her adventure.

But, yes, she was a virgin.

One deserving of a whole lot more than what he had agreed to give her. So much more than a first time with someone she expected to leave her when the sun rose.

His heart burned in his chest at the thought.

He thought she'd move on, he thought she would realise it wasn't what she wanted.

But she remained, standing next to him, though he had promised her nothing.

Dom felt the rot in his heart creep through his body, turning all he thought positive sick and dying.

Maybe he was too far gone in wanting her. Maybe the initial denial of having her had overestimated her worth to him. Maybe he'd had too many drinks to logically think about how he felt.

But maybe; he wasn't a good man.

And Letty deserved a good man.

So he would do that; he would be the best man he could for her.

Until Letty stopped wanting him. Then he'd gracefully let her go.

Tipsy and impulsive, but sane enough to want to stop the pain he caused, Dom agreed with himself to be the best he could.

He turned in bed, his eyes on the door.

Maybe he was wrong to close it?

Dom's door remained ajar all night, his eyes trained on it each time he woke, wishing for Letty to appear.


	18. Chapter 18

I am absolutely in need of something good today. Man, who made Tuesdays so stressful?!

We expect it of Monday, but then Tuesday comes out of nowhere with a shovel and smacks the living daylights out of you.

I do hope you are all having an acceptable Tuesday. If not, have a dose of cheer-up-ness.

Also, I got a review begging for the next chapter just as I was spell checking this on the system, someone is going to think their christmas came early ;) You are most welcome!

* * *

 **Chapter Eighteen; Swimming**

Dom awoke to the smell of bacon and followed it like a zombie to the kitchen.

As much shit as his sister caused, she could cook breakfast like nobody else.

"Hey sis." Dom sleepily greeted, snatching the orange juice from the table and dragging two pieces of bread from the open bread bin to the toaster.

"Really?" she huffed. "You can't even pour yourself your _own_ orange juice?" she rolled her eyes but went back to the fridge pouring another glass for herself.

Little did she know the bacon that was sizzling was also going to be rehomed the second she took it off the heat.

"Plans?" he asked, noting the bag by the chair she usually sat in.

"Yes, actually." And with a note to his hovering by the bacon she pulled the rashers back out of the fridge, chances are the ones currently cooking were not going to end up in their intended location: her stomach. "Swimming with Letty." Mia beamed proudly, dropping the bacon into the frying back like a pro, avoiding all the backsplash of fat that Dom would no doubt be swearing over.

"Swimming?" he questioned, the word tumbling in his mind. "Yeah, I'll tag along." He grinned.

"It wasn't an invitation!" Mia snapped sharply, drawing a loud grumble from Vince on the sofa in the living room. Another sigh left her and she returned to the fridge once more for another few slices of bacon to feed the hungover beast. "And you shouldn't let him drink so much." she chastised.

"What wasn't an invitation?" Letty's voice preceded her entrance to the kitchen. "I thought bacon was ready." Letty frowned when she saw nothing but fresh pink bacon in the pan.

"Asshole invited himself to come swimming with us." Mia crossed her arms on her chest, her eyes stabbing at Dom. "And he's not invited." She refused to budge on that point. "And, he stole your bacon." Mia added for impact as Dom took a bite of his partially cooked toast with bacon filling.

"We going swimming?" Vince's groaning voice joined them, drawn by the smell of the greasy food alone. "I'm game."

"Leon's in too." Dom responded, eyes on his phone.

"Seriously?! Oh my God Dom, you can't just invite yourself and your buddies out with us!" Mia protested, her tiny hands shoving her much larger brother off balance by all of a degree. He laughed and took a seat.

"You mean the same way you and Letty never once invited yourself to the races?" he fired back as he sat, mercifully passing half of the bacon sandwich to Vince.

"The races are open to anyone." Mia shot back.

"So's the swimming bath." Letty whispered to Mia as she peered at the frying pan again.

"Swimming baths are too." Dom spoke the same argument Letty predicted. "But, if you guys would prefer to get the bus there…" the offer of a free ride dangled ever so sweetly. Enough to change Mia's heart.

"Fine, you can come along with us. Because you'll drive us there and back, and let us choose the radio station." Mia bartered like a pro.

"And listen to your choice of crap? I'd rather stay home."

"You were the one who barged into our plans, you do-"

"It's a big pool, Mi. May as well take advantage of the ride." Letty offered conspiringly as she stared hopelessly at her not-yet-cooked bacon.

The asshat may have stolen her bacon, but, he'd look nice in some swim shorts carrying her around the rapids.

"Jesse's in too. We'll go after work." Dom announced.

* * *

"Letty?" Dom's voice startled Letty out of her daydream. He approached slowly; he'd been strange all day.

It wasn't any one thing, but instead of teasing, he seemed to linger with his touches, more gentle than arousing.

Letty figured it was a backlash from last night and had given him extra space to get over it. They had more than enough work to justify the lack of interaction. It seemed to be non-stop recently. Mr T was considering hiring another guy to help on weekdays. But it seemed the space she gave Dom had worn on him and he was crossing the tarmac to where she sat on lunchbreak on the low brick wall of the property.

"What do you think it will be next?" Letty asked quickly, not letting him turn her absent thinking into a pity party, nodding at the shambles of brickwork that stood tall, though neglected on the adjacent property.

"The windows place?" he asked to clarify, seating himself on the wall next to her, one leg either side of the brick.

"Not anymore." Letty's eyes traced the sunburnt logo of the 'Stevenwood Glass' that had stained the wood.

"Was a funeral parlour before." Dom noted. He'd seen the buildings in a variety of shades, none seemed to last long. His father joked it was haunted. "Massage parlour before."

"There's not much call for anything in the neighbourhood." Letty noted, wise beyond her years. She understood why nothing did well. It was a poor neighbourhood and the exclusive fashion boutique, although adored by Mia, had flopped the fastest simply due to poor location choice.

"Laundromat." Dom uttered out.

He was right, it was the original design of the building, well, as far back as memory and gossip served. The owner had died and the building hadn't been taken over as a laundromat.

"Benny's would suffer." Laundromat competition wasn't exactly a fierce business, but it did rely heavily on proximity. For a lot of people, a site here would be a lot more functional, Benny's wouldn't get its usual custom.

"Maybe it wasn't meant to be Letty." Dom suggested.

"We still good to close early and go swimming?" the influx of work hadn't helped. Letty was both blaming and thankful to Mrs Hanlet. She had thanked the boys profusely when they'd fixed her car at roadside, she'd sworn to tell all her female friends about it. Apparently it was more than that just their skills with a wrench she'd mentioned because the skirts of the ladies that called were a lot shorter than a woman of their age should be wearing.

"Yeah."

Letty turned to look at Dom, his reply was a word of suggestion entirely. She found his eyes on her hips, non-concerned as his slowly raked them up her body. He had the decency to look guilty when she pinned him.

"I've still got to finish the subaru." She was quick to turn the topic but turned back to the empty lot; it had so much potential, yet nobody care enough to listen to the market or geographic demographic when they bought it.

"About last night… you okay?" Dom had obviously not cared for the hints she gave about not wanting this conversation.

"It's been busy today." Letty closed her emotions with a steel door on those words.

"After last night?"

"You won a nice car." she pointedly ignored his intended conversation and redirected him to the prize that had started the victory party, and hence, the drinking. "Think you'd let me drive her when she's patched up?"

"I could be persuaded." He grinned. His smile dropped as hers did in the next second. Her mood fleeting. "You don't want talk about what Mia said then."

"Why? It's true." Letty twisted out. "Besides, that's not what we agreed to."

"Letty, I don't think I c-"

"I got to finish the Subaru." She stood from the wall and her half eaten sandwich.

"Letty, your lunch." But she shrugged her shoulders and walked back to the garage.

Dom stood, hands in his pocket and annoyance wriggling in his head. He thought that conversation would go a lot better. Hell, he was expecting Letty to be jumping for joy when he proposed a change to their agreement, but she wouldn't even let him go near the topic at all.

He wasn't naïve enough to believe he'd ruined her entirely, but he did feel blame. If he hadn't been such an ass to start with, would she believe he was able to change?

But now; all he saw were eyes ready for the worst.

Dom rattled around the idea of making her listen, taking her to the office and telling her he was going all in. But would cornering her low self esteem in the office end with another love tap to his face?

His memory provided the reminder of the pain she had previously inflicted.

Hell of a punch.

But perhaps, the desire to tell her wasn't entirely selfish?

"Dom?" Dom found Jesse nervously approaching him. The kind of nervous that had someone wondering how much it would cost to repair whatever he broke. "You got a sec?" Jesse scouted over his shoulder, back to the garage before twisting his hands in a way Dom knew all too well wasn't good.

"What's broken?" he asked, anticipating a four figure bill.

"Nah, nothing. Just… I, uhhhh." Jesse scratched at his head, taking another look to the garage again. "It's none of my business, but I dunno if you knew…"

"Vince?" Dom sighed heavily, already mentally preparing another round of 'stop staring at my sister's ass'.

"Nah. Well, yeah, but not anymore so than usual."

"Spit it out, Jesse." Dom asked. He needed to know if he was losing another mechanic or not.

"I uhhh. I got a cousin who's a nurse." Jesse shuffled his feet. "And, well…" unable to come straight out with the truth, Jesse hid behind a hypothetical situation defence. "If you saw a teenager doing the food shopping every week, that's weird right?"

"Jesse, what's bothering you?" Dom didn't do well with hidden meaning behind metaphors. His English teacher had bared the brunt of his anger with misunderstanding things, it had ended with a 'why don't they say what the fuck they mean?' rant and a failing grade.

And then Dom saw what Jesse kept turning his head back towards, Leticia Ortiz checking the brake pads on the Subaru.

"It's nothing. I just thou-"

"How long?" Dom asked quietly.

"Just the last few times. Don't think she saw me, but maybe it was just a trolley of snack foods; girl's gotta eat, right?" he laughed, but it was hollow.

"What'dya cousin say?"

"Says her mom sleeps at work more often than not." Jesse admitted, a guilty look over his features. "I didn't wanna say nothing but… maybe she tells Mia this stuff?"

Dom doubted it. Dom doubted anybody knew.

Letty only let people know exactly what she wanted them to know. Very little.

"I'll take care of it." Dom pledged. He slung an arm over Jesse shoulders. "Thank you." His thanks were genuine; he'd taken Letty to an empty home before, but this… it was connecting those occasions with a truth he didn't want to see before.

* * *

Letty impatiently danced around on her feet, waiting for Mia to finally finish changing. It was cold without water, or clothes, around you.

"Vince is going to be a hungover ass." Mia grumbled from behind the changing doors.

"He's always an ass." Letty agreed. "No more so than usual though." Probably less whilst he was staring at the variety of half naked women in the pool. "Hurry up. Mi, the boys are probably already in."

"He better keep his eyes to himself." Mia continued. Letty could hear the snap of elastic that would be the hair bobble, or 30, finishing her style choice to keep her hair dry.

"Dom will sort him out." He always did.

"Probably, but, I really need you to make sure he doesn't really watch me… just Vince." The statement was ambiguous at best.

"Mia." Letty growled. "Why?"

"Well…" Mia's door opened and a badly smothered secret was all over Mia's smile. "Alex is here."

"You're stalking him?" Letty laughed, taking the bags Mia passed her to shove into the open locker; Mia had a tendency of losing the wristband key and thus access to their things.

"It's not stalking." Mia announced, flipping her angle to side-on in the mirror, hands touching to the intricate braids. "He asked if I wouldn't mind coming; he wanted to see me." She guided a hair back into the line of the braid and smiled to herself.

"So why am I also invited?" Letty asked, a small part of her selfishly annoyed she'd been used by Mia.

"No!" Mia spun quickly, meeting Letty with comfort for her poorly hidden pain. "I figured after last night you'd want something fun and we love this place. Besides, now that Dom tagged himself along, it's not like I'm going to be spending all my time with him."

"It's fine, Mia." Letty lied. "Just stay out of the boy's sights and I'll cover for you."

"I didn't mean it like that. I'm sorry, Letty. Besides, I thought we could hang out as a three?" Mia pouted. "How about we have a few laps first? Just you and me."

Letty found herself agreeing and stepping out into the warm air of the pool heading to the lane swimming. The boys were already causing a fuss, shouting and calling as they ducked each other in the water, playing sharks and chasing the skimpily dressed women.

Letty found Dom easily, he was wading through the shallows, the water line creeping slowly up over the top of his shorts, over his belly button, up and up until he was swimming to Vince, ready to dunk him when he paused his lame flirting with the big breasted woman under the waterfall.

Letty looked down at herself, nothing fantastic to show in her one piece swimsuit that squeezed her already small breasts flat to her chest and gave her no figure. Mia had dressed for flirting, not swimming. She had a pink bikini set with ribbon that gave her at least two cup sizes up from what she was and an ass to die for.

Letty didn't waste time in getting in the water, hiding her body in the motions of the small waves.

It took only 10 minutes before Letty had lapped Mia twice over in the lane sprints, but Mia's attention was on the boys playing in the wave pool, not the water drag she caused with poor form. Usually Letty and Mia would be head to head in these races.

Letty stopped mid lane and waited for Mia to catch up to her.

"What's up?"

"Cramp." she lied. "Gunna go sit with the boys. I'll say you've gone to sit in the hot rocks and sauna?"

"You're the best!" Wet arms flung around her and Letty was almost sunk by the added weight. But Mia was off, suddenly finding the power to accelerate herself at full speed across the lanes, between the swimmers and to her number one fan.

Letty remained treading water as she watched his eyes flash wide. The man wanted Mia perhaps as much as Letty wanted Dom.

The boys weren't far and Letty swam across to them leisurely, watching as they tormented the pulse of the lifeguard with a serious attachment to her whistle. They just loved to press her buttons. And from Leon's glare, it wasn't just pressing they wanted to do with her buttons.

"Shark!" Vince called, the first to spot her. "Letty shark in the waters!" he shouted out to the others, claiming direct attention.

"Letty shark?" Leon joined in, closest to her and quickly making his way over. "Those are deadly." His hands made to grab her, to pull her into the boys rough and tumble.

Larger hands ensnared her first, catching her as she swam back and away.

"Especially in male waters." Dom breathed against her neck. "Where's my sister?"

"Hot rocks." Letty replied quickly, twisting easily in the slippery waters to evade his hands. Now was not the place to be as close as the privacy of the garage allowed.

Dom pulled a face.

"What's hot rocks?" Leon asked, drawn closer with the promise of someone more fun to play with than the stick-in-the-mud lifeguard.

"Urgh." Vince was quick to groan. "It's some stupid Jacuzzi thing that women like." he grumbled.

The boys had been on the impression they'd be able to pick up some chics. It turned out, it was the hot spot for women to talk about menstrual cramps, pregnancy aches and arthritis aids. According to Vince it was: "It's where all hope of sex goes to die."

"So Letty figured she'd have more fun with us?" Leon guessed.

"Oh Letty's here?" Jesse's voice greeted her following a dive bomber into the pool; odds were it was him. "Mia in the sauna?"

"Hot rocks first." Letty answered. "You guys finished tormenting the lifeguard?"

"Tormenting?" Vince gasped, hand to his heart.

"Haven't even started yet, little Letty, got plans for the pretty blonde and her whistle on that slide." Leon nodded to the yellow slide than ran around the pool before dunking into a splash zone. It used to be her favourite part of the pool to go on with her dad when he was home.

Now, she preferred the rapids. Dom had let her ride on his back as he rocked back and forth in the bubbling path they made. "You wanna tag along?" Leon offered.

"I'll pass, perha-" but Letty's reply was cut off by the two beeps that signalled the wave machine was being turned on in the deep end of the pool.

They boys loved it, they liked to race each other into the waves and back, claiming any women they passed for an accidental grope which they could blame on the waves.

"Bagsy on the brunette with the boyfriend!" Leon called and started the swim to the deeper end on the pool, Jesse and Vince hot after him.

Dom, however, caught Letty's hand, drawing her into him.

With the boys in the opposite direction and Mia purposefully staying out of sight, Letty's legs allowed themselves to ensnare around Dom's hips in the water.

She felt every step as he waded them further away, towards the rapid route they regularly took. It passed the kissing waterfall where couples played Romeo and Juliet, it passed the kids waterpark where they beat the hell out of each other with waternoodles and pathetic spray cannons. But as much of the view as it passed, it was hidden away from other eyes.

"You okay?" Dom asked, sinking lower as the water deepened into the sloshing rapids.

"Yeah." His grip on her legs tightened for a second stopping her subconscious emotional recoil from him.

"Not asking difficult questions, Letty." he chuckled, draping her arms over his shoulders and pulling her closer to him, chest to chest, legs snared securely around his hips.

"You look good." he spoke against her, now firmly tucked from prying eyes. "You feel good." The water knocked them into each other further. "You got ideas of how _easily_ it would be to push a little bit of fabric aside right now, just flying around in my head." Letty blushed, turning her face away.

"When do I get my next lesson?" she asked him, lips by his ear, the sound slipped under the sloshing of the water around them. "Second base?" she guessed, based on his last educative adventure.

"I don't know." He shrugged in the water and her nipples dragged against his chest; she hadn't realised how much they poked out in the suit she wore until she was next to Dom.

"I want to." she prompted.

"You want to what?" he grinned devilishly, lips returning the caress of words over an ear.

"Everything." she repeated as she had before.

"In time; when you're ready."

"I'm ready now." she bit out, finger nails biting his shoulders annoyed he would give such things to anybody and anyone, but she had to beg, when she of all people wanted it the most.

"Alright." he soothed, lips pressed to her neck in a simple kiss that calmed her instantly. "Maybe Wednesday." he offered softly. He felt the effect his words had, Letty's body exploded with a second of tension before she was nothing more than a wet noddle, sliding herself to place before his lips.

"Wednesday?" she eagerly smiled.

"If Mia's got late group and I don't get swamped at work." he amended. It was still more than enough for Letty, she beamed brightly, closing the distance between their lips and letting the water rock them against each other.

She felt the pool edge against her back as Dom spun them to the wall of the rapids.

His hands held her body under the white of the chopping water, they pinned her to the side, driving his fingers down the side of her breasts, curving with the dip of her tiny waist before curling over her hip bones.

He returned the kiss with fire and want. A craving she felt deep inside her bones.

His tongue traced the seam of her lips and she submitted herself to him, letting him hold her, carry her, taste her.

Letty felt the weight of the world lift from her shoulders. In Dom's arms, lips pressed to hers, this was how it was meant to be. She could conquer the world at his side, at least that's how she felt.

There was no way of explaining that to him, no way of making him understand how he held her heart in his hands, no possible way to thank him enough to freeing her.

Letty could only think to return the happiness he gave in the way Dom wanted most.

She took one hand from his shoulder, down his chest to where they joined in the water.

In the hide of the pool, she could slide a hand into his shorts and try to give him an ounce of the joy he gave her.

A chuckle brushed over her lips and she was hiked up his body, her hand returning for balance.

"Later." he breathed. "Wednesday." he continued, dropping kisses to her neck. "Then, you can explore as much as you want." The words spun Letty's axis into a whirlwind, Wednesday was becoming the best day of her week and it hadn't even arrived yet.

"You mean it?" she asked, eyes large and smile in full bloom.

"Excited?" he challenged with a grin.

She nodded quickly, jolting as she felt his fingers brush against the gusset of her swimsuit. A buttock in each hand, Dom's long fingers spread just far enough to carry and tease at the same time.

A scream over the noise of the water broke their moment.

Letty and Dom turned their heads to the wrap-around slide as the scream followed its track of the pool.

"Com'on." Dom shot his childish smile an eagerness filling him as he swung her onto his back and swam fast through the rapids to see the finale of the mechanics' hard work.

There, sliding through the tunnels, soaked and grumpy, the female lifeguard had been taken for a full ride and splat into the splash zone.

Following her angry ranting as she dragged herself upright came Leon, Jesse and then Vince, one by one knocking her off balance until she was a tangle of limbs with them.

Dom's laugher bounced around in his ribs as he swam over, the boys continuing to pretend to slip and drag her back down each time she stood.

"Keep my sister in check." Dom spoke, dropping his hold on Letty's legs and immersing her in the pool unsuspectingly. "To be continued!" he shouted over his shoulder as she resurfaced and pushed her hair out of her eyes.

With the fourth man joining their mischief the boys were all fully occupied in their game of risk.

Letty turned back to the swimming lanes in the other side of the pool, guess she was beating her own record today.

* * *

"They'll be in there until their skin turns into a giant saggy mess or the lifeguards kick them out." Mia huffed, taking a comb through her hair as they sat in the warmth of the café. They'd left over 20 minutes ago, long enough for even Mia to shower and dress. They were perched on the stools that overlooked the pool, Mia's bags spread across three chairs.

Intended for parents to watch swim classes whilst drinking coffee it gave Mia a perfect opportunity to point out the boys in the pool that were with Alex, detailing their names and friendship. Apparently today was 'meet the girlfriend' day for Alex's friends. Mia insisted they were all really cool, all except Austin who seemed unhealthily jealous; in Mia's opinion.

"I don't know how the lifeguard hasn't killed them yet." After her tumble down the slide she regained some dignity above her chair but as her relief came and moved her onto the children's pool, the boys had hunted like sharks, soaking her with the blasters, calling points of varying score for different body parts. Needless to say she was most soaked through her underwear. Even the tight controlled bun in her hair had been forgotten and let loose.

Letty sipped on her hot chocolate, her eyes on Dom's back as he aimed the watergun at Vince once more, stalking behind the foam rocks of the children's play area to surprise attack him.

Mia exchanged one hair product for another as she began an intricate plait across the top of her head to swing down. When Letty finally lost sight of Dom behind the waterfall, Mia was pinning the braid into a curl against her head in a way that only Mia could make both sexy and mature.

"So much for the girlfriend." Mia scoffed suddenly, eyes no longer using the glass as a mirror. "Can't even keep his hands to himself for a moment."

Letty found her man once more, but she saw Dom lift the brunette in the blue bikini from Leon's perverted hands into Jesse's softer grasp. Three, two, one and Dom was back, hands to himself and chasing down another man responsible for the stray watergun blast that had disturbed said female.

Mia didn't see the way Dom's eyes turned back to the women's changing doors. Mia didn't see the way he scouted the pool, for Letty? Mia was watching Alex and his friends call time on their waterpark fun, heading back to the showers.

"Com'on, I'll do your hair." Mia encouraged, already scooting her stool behind Letty's, hands armed with brush and bobble.

"Something simple." Letty grunted out, already resigned to her fate as hairstyle mannequin.

"That reminds me." Mia began, brush finding every tangle and knot in Letty's hair in the same second it touched. "La Pinka has a sale on."

"I thought you said they didn't have any you liked online." La Pinka was an underwear and loungewear shop, mostly too expensive for a teenage bank account.

"No, they had tons I like just not at the price I liked." Mia expanded with a sigh. "Anyway, it's 60% off some of their popular brands. Most are everyday patterns and a bit plain, but, maybe simple is better to start with." Mia leaned over to gauge Letty's opinion. "You wanna come with?"

Letty's eyebrow rose in defiance of the suggestion before her brain had chance to think. "Stupid question right?" Mia laughed, turning back to the tangle that was Letty's towel dried hair. "But I just don't want to go by myself, and I want to get something Alex will like. It's the first time, light on, he's going to see me, and I want to look pretty."

"You think he likes that sort of stuff?"

"Primo Bella says a man can read a lot from a woman's underwear choices." Primo Bella was a magazine as trashy as a trailer park whore, but the article on 'men say' was Mia's all access pass to the male mind. "I want to send the right message."

"Which is?" Letty asked, wincing only slightly as the last hard tug of the brush had Mia scowling and turning to finger comb the mess of locks.

"I want underwear that says I'm confident, I'm okay with how I look and I want you to want me." Mia giggled as she finished. "But, seriously, when I'm ready, I want to walk out looking hot to drop, not hiding behind my powerpuff girl underwear." Mia finally took her finger from top to bottom of Letty's sectioned hair without snagging. "Please come with me. You might see something you like."

And there was a sale. Something perhaps Dom would like her in. Something to entice him to go a little further on Wednesday perhaps? Letty smiled at the glass. "I know you don't have anyone to wear it for yet, but you can get it for yourself, a present."

"I'm still saving for a car." Letty reminded herself, her smile saving.

"And your car will wait for you, a 60% off La Pinka sale will not."

"Fine." Letty tried to pause long enough to make it seem like she had reluctantly agreed, but Mia's argument had made sense, a lot of sense. Besides, one set of underwear wouldn't hurt her budget too much. Perhaps she'd have to steal from her allocated sweet fund but it would make up for itself. By Wednesday hopefully.


	19. Chapter 19

Reviews have been... amazing. Nothing short of amazing.

Thank you.

You all seem to be very much enjoying this and I am happy to provide another dose for you.

Posting _should_ be weekly now. I am wrapping up my lose ends with my writing (it's around the 40 chapter mark I predict) and i'm nearing the end of this fic so I am happy to be a weekly poster-person.

With that in mind, please don't kill me when you read this!

Love you all!

* * *

 **Chapter Nineteen; Expanding**

According to Mia, Letty was inexplicable excited Wednesday lunch. Excited to the point of nearly vibrating in her skin. Letty had raced her way home whilst Mia was setting up for maths tutoring.

This also meant gossip sharing via the crucially important texting and after lunch it seemed Alex had dropped an embarrassingly positive fact on Mia.

' _You'll never guess what Alex showed me today'_

' _What?'_ Letty replied as she arrived through the front door, straight up past the washing machine that was finishing its cycle her mother had no doubt set before work. She was straight into her bedroom, eyes on the bedside clock as she dug the bag out from under her bed.

' _His dad gave him condoms'_ Mia's reply was almost instantaneous.

It stopped Letty as she was, knelt on her bedroom floor, one hand under her bed, the other gripping the phone.

Letty finally thought she was getting somewhere and Mia was a step ahead.

Not that it was a competition, but Mia was a year younger than her, it shouldn't be like this.

' _Are you ready for that?'_

Letty had to ask, she had to know. Slower than before, she withdrew the pink paper bag from the recesses of the dust bunnies lair and took the singular pair of 60% reduced matching underwear from the bag. Deep red, lace trimmed and the last bra on the sale rack in her small size.

Including the discount offer for signing up to an email address with her bogus email, Letty had paid a lot less than expected. She hadn't tried them on, they'd been stashed away with tags on like a dirty little secret.

' _No. Not yet. But his dad sat him down and said if he was thinking about this, then he needed to make sure he was safe and protected. Apparently, his dad was in proper dad-mode and gave him a lecture about being respectful to women and not pressuring his girlfriend.'_

Letty could imagine that gave Mia a giggle or two.

' _Alex gone shy?'_ Letty followed with. She didn't have experience of the dad-talks about sex, but every time Dom seemed to get one, he'd be good for a few days afterwards. Letty was counting on Wednesday not being one of his rare good days.

' _Yes! But… I know this a huge favour, but can I be at yours this weekend for a sleepover? His parents have said they are happy for me to sleep over since it's such a long ride back home, as long as my dad is okay with that- which I'm not likely to ask about. So… can you cover for me?'_

Letty expected this after she'd been dragged on a Sunday morning to go underwear shopping. Mia wanted more, maybe not all the way, but more.

' _Friday? I was planning on staying home and watching movies with my mom.'_ Lie.

Letty was hoping and planning on a repeat of the last time she didn't go to the races, perhaps after this evening, Dom would insist she come over Friday night when her 'sleepover' turned to sleep? Exactly like last time, except more. If tonight was second base, she could persuade Friday to be third, and if they were going to third, what was a fourth to slide in there?

Giddy once more, Letty held the underwear against her body over her clothes, twisting in the small mirror to imagine what she would look like. Was it too much?

' _I love you, I love you, I love you! I owe you one for covering and another one for sacrificing your Friday night at the races!'_ In true teenage form, Mia's enthusiasm bubbled over into emoji's and love hearts.

Letty smiled and tapped back on her phone.

There was one message she'd been revisiting all day.

A simple one.

One from Dom on his lunch break.

 _Thinking of you ;)_

There wasn't a clever reply in Letty's mind when she'd restarted her heart after reading it under the desk in English Lit, so she'd put off replying until she could breathe properly, but still, his text sat unanswered. Letty smiled at it. It didn't need an answer really. Of course she'd be thinking of him too. Had been all day, all last night, all last year.

She was thinking of him as she held up the bra once more.

It wasn't too much.

He wouldn't think of her as childish after tonight.

Letty danced on her feet through her quick undressing.

Finally, Letty was on her tiptoes to try and see the full picture, brown hair falling over red satin that encased her to make her look like more of woman than she had ever considered herself.

The 'boost' bra was as cleavage enhancing as Mia's research had suggested; she looked amazing.

She looked like those women in the pop-up ads on the internet, the ones who tried to ensnare idiotic men into handing over their credit card details.

She looked confident, she looked womanly, she looked like someone who knew exactly how to use her body.

She ran a hand down her legs; she'd shaved last night, even moisturized afterwards.

Feeling daring, Letty pulled a hoodie on over the bra, no top, no shirt, just one layer. The jeans concealed her full secret and she looked like regular barefoot relaxed Letty.

Regular Letty with a secret mission to seduce her man.

She glanced once more at the time.

Dom would be on his way over any minute.

She stole into the bathroom and sprayed some of her mother's never used perfume before pelting it down the stairs, standing before the door like it would swing open to heaven at any second.

Letty bounced her feet as she stood in the hallway.

She stood for all of a minute before she felt like an over eager idiot and forced herself to take a seat in the living room. She flipped on the tv a moment later, aiming for as naturally unconsciously seductive as possible. It was hard when Letty bolted to her feet everytime a car passed the window.

But there was the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air on tv, one of the many re-runs that made her laugh. When the credits played Letty realised just how much time had passed.

She should demand he abolish this one base at a time rule for making her wait.

She reached for her phone only to remember she left it upstairs. When she snagged it from the dresser, there was the flashing light of an unread text.

' _You wanna watch a movie tonight? I gotta watch Romeo and Juliet for English and Dom's only going to mock me.'_

Mia.

Tutoring had finished and Mia was on her way home.

And Dom? Who knew?

As much as Letty loved Mia, she wanted her brother tonight.

Maybe he was just running late, as long as Mia wasn't here, she could still take her plans being delayed.

' _Got homework, another time?'_

Letty felt corrupt as she pressed send. It wasn't a lie; she had homework, but she'd rarely fobbed Mia off for it.

' _Alright, alright. I won't make you watch the sappy romantic movie tonight.'_

Torn between coming off as desperate and curiously worried, Letty decided to text Dom, just a simple ' _where are you?_ '

Letty had settled back in with another episode of Fresh Prince when her reply came.

' _Working late'._

Letty stared at the two words confused. Did that mean he was coming later? Did that mean he wasn't coming?

Her phone vibrated again and Letty was lightning fast to pick it up.

It wasn't the text she wanted. Instead, the text had her bubbling a temper.

' _Urgh, so I'm not watching my movie tonight. Dom and dad are stuffing their faces infront of the tv. Why am I the only one with sense in my family?'_

Letty felt rejection trickle down her spine like cold cold water.

Working late?!

He wasn't even at work.

He just didn't turn up.

Letty decided two things in a split second. One; Mia's text did not require an answer. Two; Dom was not coming tonight.

The bolt and lock hit home in the door with an aggression they hadn't seen since her mother and father used to fight over money.

She stomped upstairs in her empty house and dragged the hoodie over her head, the bra was thrown into the corner of the room, her old sleep top shuffled on as she repeated the same with the matching bottoms.

Half naked, Letty shoved herself into bed and turned hard into her pillow.

* * *

"So?" Dom asked, nervous smile on his lips. He felt like he should be wearing suit and tie, sliding papers across a table for a paycheck.

"Well…" his father began, his hands moving the papers so he could view all the figures as a whole. "I think…" he stroked his finger and thumb down his chin slowly. "I think we'll need to hire some more staff." He turned to smile at Dom. "This is good, son."

"You mean it?"

"I do. It may have started as an empty idea, but this is well thought through, even if Vince has a few pricey inventions that won't be entertained. I can tell you've thought about this." Dom beamed as he heard the magic words. "I'm proud, son."

"When do we start?" Dom was eager to move ahead, eager to please.

"First, my accountant, just to check the figures, then we'll take a look at the realistic retail prices for the land." But Mr T had a shine in his eyes, a giddiness. "But this is really good."

Dom sat back on the sofa, all his work for the past week on a flash of an idea had bloomed into something his father finally approved of.

He hated to say it, but it was Letty who had given him the idea.

The empty land next door was never stable, it was just empty land.

The garage was worked to the bone with the phone calls and continuous cars from lonely housewives and wannabe racers.

They were going to expand.

Vince had shoved his minimal research into his hand when he was just about to leave work and thrown him at Mr T with a half fumbled explanation of 'we want more' to left Dom expand upon.

"Are you guys finished watching your crappy episode now?" Dom turned to his little sister, wearing a frown and standing arms crossed in the archway of the living room.

"The news is neither 'crappy' nor an episode." Mr T answered calmly, sliding papers neatly on top of each other on the coffee table. "But yes Mia, we have finished with the television."

"What are you guys doing anyway?" she crossed over. "Does Dom need another top up on the birds and bees talk?" she mocked finally peering over her father shoulder. "Isn't that the plans for the garage?"

"How would you feel about picking out a new colour scheme for it?" Dom's eyes widened at his father's suggestion.

"Oh my god? Seriously? Absolutely! We would need to try some sample pots! I think a deep purple would be a good place to start. Wait, why?" Mia was quick to hang over her father's form and mess the papers again. "Oh, you're expanding?!" she squealed. Neither male could tell whether it was positive or negative until she squealed again, turning on one foot. "We could do one colour for the main front, one colour for the back. We could get a two toned colour scheme! This is the best decision you have ever made! I can even design a waiting room, I saw extreme makeover; home edition, I can absolutely turn this around for you."

"Mia, Mia." Mr T snared a dancing hand and pulled her into a hug. "How about we wait until we get a budget before you spend it all on paints."

"You won't regret it." Mia promised, smiling widely at her father.

"You should be thanking your brother, it was his idea."

Like a cold shower, Mia turned to him with hard eyes, ones that believed she was _still_ the better sibling.

"His idea is poorly timed, we could have done with this ages ago." Mia fired out, as was her sisterly duty. "At least you have my artistic talents to hand now. But, they need to wait until I've done my English homework."

"Romeo and Juliet?" her father asked seeing the movie case. "I doubt your homework is to watch a movie."

"It's to describe to differences in the ways the story of Romeo and Juliet has been portrayed by different media over time." Mia narrated. "You are welcome to stay and watch if you want to learn about real romance." She sneered at her brother.

Mr T left the comments alone, shuffled the papers into order and took them with him away from the teenage drama. Dom was hot on his heels.

"Why is Mia design expert?" he grunted.

"Would you rather have Mia working with us, or against us? Because if she's not involved, this will become six times harder than it already will be."

"Still…"

"Besides, do you know anyone with fashion or colour sense that will work for free to design and paint the garage?" Mr T grinned widely. Ever the strategic planner he had satisfied both his children and his business in one evening. It was a good day. "It's a good plan Dom, you should feel happy with this." With a pat to the shoulder Dom turned back to his bedroom, nudging the door open with his foot and collapsing into the bed.

It had been a long day. He hadn't intended on getting into the details of the expansion today, if Vince hadn't of pushed him, he could be finalising all the small points his father had interrogated him about. If they hadn't have been swamped, they wouldn't need the expansion or new mechanics to train. If they hadn't been swamped, he may have actually got to spend his break as a break instead of running paperwork around between bites of a bacon butty. If they hadn't been swamped, he could have gotten out of there at the same time as the others.

If they hadn't been swamped, he could have spent his evening with Letty. Wrapped up in all the positions he wanted her in. Getting to know her body; every inch.

His dick made itself known, awakening at the thought.

All of his thoughts at night seemed to centre around his sister's best friend.

He felt the shame he knew he should, but shame didn't stand a chance when Dom had the vivid memory of Letty sleeping in his bed, of being curled in his arms, of how her fingers roamed his chest as he lulled back in drunken bliss.

He wanted it again.

Instead he had another night of laying alone in bed wishing he wasn't.

Dom didn't know what to do with his thoughts, he hadn't felt like this before.

Not with any of the racers.

Not with his first real girlfriend back at school.

Not even with Sarah Thompson when he hit puberty and his dick used to salute her every time she walked past.

Not even when he'd lost _his_ virginity.

Letty was a poison in his veins that would surely be his death.

It was a potent, aggressive formula, snaking into his mind, weaving every thought back to her.

If they hadn't been swamped he could have spent the evening with her. Drinking in her habits like they would satisfy his curiosity for her. Holding her against him as she threw him her happy smile, warm and safe in his arms, stretched out along his body. Moaning in pleasure as he traced her body to find every place she liked to be touched. Fingers interlaced as he pressed a kiss to cover her skin, finally dipping his tongue between her legs to taste her. Feeling her thighs squeeze on his ears as she came like a firework into his mouth.

Dom re-arranged himself.

She was plaguing him.

He didn't even find himself needing to get off whilst with her.

He wanted her.

Nothing more. Nothing less.

Just Letty.

It was a bolt through his system at the extreme compulsion for her presence.

He hadn't felt anything like it in all his life, but he wanted to explore it.

He wanted more.

Maybe Friday?


	20. Chapter 20

I feel the chapter title here covers the M warning, but just to be super super super clear. If you are not interested in the smutty goodness provided, you may need to skip a few chunks of text.

If, however, you find the idea of a saucy script sizzlingly salacious, then proceed.

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty; Getting off**

Friday night, Letty's mother was home.

Home in the sense of 'in the house'.

More accurately, she was asleep on the sofa within 20 minutes of their attempt at family film night. Her mother had said nothing about the change to her routine Friday night; if she even noticed. Just shared the bowl of chips and salsa and curled into her pillow before drifting off.

Letty had finished the film, woken her mother to go into a proper bed but been grunted off her attempts and simply thrown the blanket from the overflowing ironing basket over her newly stretched limbs and put the house to sleep; locks, windows, lights and electrics.

Which left Letty as she told herself she liked best, alone.

But in the darkness of the warm night, as rain threatened in the skies, Letty's demons came to play.

They picked on where she was most vulnerable, on what played on her mind, on what she couldn't stop thinking about; Dom

More specifically; the multitude of reasons he would not want her.

The haunting depth of her insecurities about her sexual inexperience.

Was that why Dom hadn't bothered to turn up?

Why he lied about being at work?

Perhaps he realised she was a child with such minimal experience she had a touch and go relationship with even getting herself off.

Letty thumped her pillowed, crawling into her bed with the old near-death laptop.

Letty had strayed onto porn before, she wanted some point of reference for what she had only heard before; courtesy of Dom's conquests or the sex ed lessons descriptions. And then she'd ended up on the website forms of Mia's trashy mags sex articles.

Most of her attempts for self pleasure ended well, she felt everything tense and everything relax, she felt good with them. But, then there were some nights when what she had done previously did nothing at all for her.

She thought she was broken, defective at least. She heard Dom's partners scream the house down in pleasure; they had no trouble.

Multiple times.

No wonder Dom didn't want her.

Frustrated with herself, Letty wanted to make her point, that the shattered self confidence was an illusion and that she could get herself off.

With inspiration in mind, Letty found herself back on the variety of 'how to' websites for everything from flirting, to blatant seduction, sex games and advanced sexual positions that made her flinch.

Letty lost time to her research, one site leading onto the next, one article feeding into another. Some made her hot, some were weird, some scared her.

All made her think; what would Dom like?

If she could learn this stuff, if she could prove herself, would he give her the decency to treat her like any other women that begged for him to pleasure them?

There were articles about waxing, shaving, epilating her pubic hair, all of which sounded very painful, especially since shaving her legs often ended with plasters.

But, was that what Dom wanted?

Porn seemed to make it seem the fashion.

But, Dom wasn't picky, he'd have picked up any woman, it wasn't like he gave them an inspection first… but would it make him want her more?

Letty flipped to another page for more instruction and was immediately sidetracked.

Maybe her 'hair style' wouldn't matter.

Letty clicked through to an article with a woman who said she could orgasm from her boyfriend playing with her nipples only.

Letty looked down at her barely there chest.

Really?

Letty barely even touched them with her own explorations, just went straight for the main event.

Was she meant to?

Letty's attention was pulled again, another article linked for multiple orgasms.

Letty jumped quickly, dragging her attention with rising anger as woman after woman told their secrets of having multiple orgasms.

A grumble slipped from Letty's lips, she could barely manage one and there were women out there having 20 at a time? How was that fair?

She got no boobs, no curves, no experience and no orgasm ability, of course Dom wouldn't want her.

Simultaneous orgasms flashed up as the next link and Letty found herself running out of patience with the internet. Squirting orgasms, what the hell?

Letty was just about to close down the internet entirely when she caught a page she finally could relate to.

Faking orgasms.

Was this her answer?

Dom wouldn't think her so naïve if she was as quick to the finish as all the other stories online.

Clicking into the page, Letty found an instruction manual for faking it.

The manual came with step by step guides, with images.

Was that what she looked like?

The women looked like they were either in pain or had left their body entirely.

Was this what Dom gave his bedmates? Was this the finale he craved?

Five steps covered the perfectly faked orgasm.

Point one; an arched back.

Point two; pull a face; eyes closed mouth open seemed to be the majority verdict

Three; fist the bedsheets

Four; curl your toes

Five; clench vaginal muscles.

Was this what Dom wanted from his bed guests?

A nameless woman squeezing around him, head thrown back as she called out his name?

Over and over, making her see heaven from his ministrations.

Jealousy swam with the heat in her stomach.

Her imagination filled in the blanks of Dom slamming over and over into some faceless panting female as she grew hotter and hotter until her tension burst in ecstasy and as she tore her nails over his back, he'd rear up against her, coming hard into her like she'd given him the ride of his life.

Letty burned with envy.

Dom had agreed sex and nothing more, she was keeping her feelings out of it as was logical. She knew Dom was not going to love her. She knew she wasn't going to be his one and only. She knew all this and yet she still wanted to be perfect for him. Her mind believed in the darkness she didn't want to admit to, that perhaps, if she was perfect, she would be all he needed.

Unlikely, but perhaps.

She understood Dom better than any of these other women, she could read the difference between his stoic angry and stoic playful better than even Vince.

Unlike the other women, she actually _cared_ about Dom.

She knew his favourite foods, drinks and tv shows.

She knew the things he hated.

And yet…

It wasn't enough?

Letty lifted her eyes back up to the laptop, the monster of self esteem shadowing her thinking.

Kegel exercises, it recommended in the article.

The art of squeezing ones internal vaginal muscles to work the pelvic floor; the same muscle you used to stop yourself peeing apparently.

The idea; to tighten the vaginal walls.

Letty already had trouble with fitting anymore than a finger inside, a finger that was already a lot slimmer than a penis.

Especially the one she had in mind, flashing bright with the image from spying on a shower.

Letty skimmed past the passage on the daily exercises and finally reached the end of her patience as it started discussing clitoral piercings; the internet was a scary place.

The laptop lid was shoved shut and Letty slid it back onto the bedside table.

If she could fake it, she could seduce Dom. Logically.

Letty turned off her bedside light and recalled what she had learned.

She shoved her hand under her sleep top, her fingers heading straight for rubbing over her nipples. Uncoordinated fingers scrubbing over flesh soon had the blood running to peak up her nipples and register a sensation that couldn't be ignored. Letty took her hands straight down from her breasts to the band of her sleep shorts. Slipping under the elastic of her underwear she found the nub of sensitivity she usually strummed nestled in the curls and began playing the familiar tune.

She rocked over her clit, hoping to encourage more of the same sensations that started from her breasts.

But… it wasn't the same.

Letty huffed and shuffled further down in the bed, bending her knees up to get a better angle.

Dom was inside her head though, and not in the way she tried to manipulate him to be.

He wasn't there to let her pretend her fingers were actually his. He wasn't there to talk dirty words into her ear.

No, he was there with a raised eyebrow, asking her why she couldn't get herself off.

Letty screwed her eyes closed and threw her memory back to where he had been ticking off first base in his bedroom, where he had walked to his shower with strut in his step, where he had wrapped his fingers around his length.

Letty felt her wave of pleasure rise again only to fall flat as her mind warped it again, twisted for Dom to turn from his shower and tut at her, tell her she should learn to work her own body before he would let her touch him.

Letty heaved out a heavy huff and took her fingers back up to her nipples but the traitors had listened to her head and were flat and uninterested.

Letty wretched her hands from her body entirely.

Fucking Dom. He was in her head in all the wrong ways.

Flipping over, Letty breathed long and deep, anger bubbling.

He hadn't wanted her on Wednesday and now her mental representation of him didn't want her either.

Bastard.

Letty's phone vibrated softly against the side table. She blindly swiped out, knocking off her alarm clock in the process but grabbing the phone.

It wasn't Mia.

No, it was Mr Piss-her-off.

 _You coming over when Mia's asleep?_

No. She immediately wanted to answer. She didn't want to see his stupid face mocking her anymore. Clearly he didn't want her on Wednesday. Would tonight just be another round of doing anything but what Letty wanted?

Letty didn't have the tolerance for it tonight.

Lord knew, Letty was head over heels for the man, but it didn't mean she couldn't hate him at the same time.

Letty didn't bother with a reply, she put the phone back on the side and flopped away from it. It took her some time but Letty reached a dreamless sleep.

* * *

"Sorry." Letty grunted as she threw herself into the car. She didn't want to be sorry, but it was the truth; they were 20 minutes late because of her stupid alarm clock not going off- it wouldn't when its batteries were scattered on her bedroom floor though.

"You alright?" Dom asked, voice sounding genuinely concerned. Letty knew better.

"Fine."

"You don't usually overlay." Dom continued, handbrake still on the car, making them even later than they already were.

"Alarm clock didn't go off." she muttered, fishing in her bag on the latent thought she had left her purse on the countertop.

"Mia said you were up and dressed when she left this morning." Dom interrogated, grabbing her rucksack from her attention and setting it in the footwell. The girls usually always had matching stories.

He didn't miss the way she froze up when he mentioned Mia's name. "Weren't you?"

Letty scrambled for purchase onto an idea.

"Why does it matter? Sorry im late." she huffed, turning to stare out of the window. She couldn't find her purse, which meant no money for picking up tea on the way home, not that her mother had left her out any anyway. She could go back in and get her purse, they hadn't set off yet. But that would mean asking Dom for yet another favour in addition to the one of even talking to her when he found her so unattractive.

"What the hell's up with you?" Dom snapped, his hair trigger temper paired violently well with Letty's gasoline and fire mood this morning.

"Like you even care. Just drive." She gritted out.

Letty heard the angry mumblings under Dom's breath before he kicked the radio up to an unhealthy volume and put his foot on the gas, taking them to work.

Letty was out of the car the second it pulled up, she stormed past Vince's mocking greeting about her tardiness cutting him short and Leon jumped out of her path as she stomped on to the workbench she threw her rucksack on.

She'd been woken by her mother in the bathroom, a glance at her phones clock had told her she was late, add to that the rumbling of Dom's engine pulling up outside, Letty had gone into speed mode, throwing on whatever she could find and racing out the door.

* * *

"You didn't take a lunch." Dom's voice rumbled out to her in the quiet workings of the garage. It was past closing time and Letty was determined to finish the service on the Peugeot despite the fact Vince had said he would do it two hours ago and 'forgot'.

"Didn't need one." Letty returned, sounding equally as annoyed.

Their tempers burned as embers of a large fire, one spark and they would flare up again, but for the moment, there was still the chance they would remain stable and calm. A chance.

"Yes, you did." Dom retorted, his know-it-all boss voice trying to take command. "Everyone else has gone, leave the Peugeot and I'll give you a ride home."

"I'll walk." she snapped, still not looking at him.

"I wasn't giving you an option, Letty. Leave the car until tomorrow it c-"

"I'll finish." she bit out, pushing her hair out of her sights once more. It had been a shit day. From start to finish.

"Seriously, we're doing this here?" Dom muttered to himself. She could hear him square himself up on the concrete, see his work boots take their 'don't fuck with me' stance in the corner of her vision.

"Doing what?" Now Letty did bolt upright, turning to him with a burning fire in her eyes. "We've already covered how childish I am, are you going to tell me I can't finish a car now?!" Letty felt the red hot rage return as if it was Wednesday night all over again, Friday night simmering in the pot already too hot.

"What the hell is your problem today?"

"Unlike some people, when I say I'm working. I'm fucking working." Letty hadn't even noticed that he'd closed the rollers down, true enough to his word, everything else was finished for business, it was just her he was waiting on. "Give me the keys and I'll lock up when I'm done." she tried again, softer and with less hatred.

"Oh no, you started this, we're doing this." A sick grin dragged over his lips, one of those 'im right, you're wrong' grins where he was waiting for the idiot to realise. "You can start with telling me what the hell you really wanna say."

"You wanna hear what I wanna say?" she repeated with a laugh. Nobody ever wanted to hear what angry Letty had to say, not when she got started.

"Yeah, go on." he challenged, a raised eyebrow. The raised eyebrow that had judged her all night.

Letty felt the cold water thrown all over her bonfire rage. It wasn't his fault he didn't want her; she was flawed.

"Fuck off Dom." But the words were dragged between a breath that wanted her to crawl into a ball and cry. "You can forget about whatever deal we had." He gave her a puzzled look. "I release you from pretending to give a shit about me." she mocked herself with a wave of her hand, turning back to the engine.

"Oh, you do, do you?" he chuckled darkly. "That's great to hear." he sarcastically sneered. "Now what the fuck is wrong with you? You've nearly killed Vince twice and Leon hasn't dared be within four feet of you." She'd barely said a word to anyone as well. Even Mia got a brush off that Letty was busy with a car. "And don't give me some bullshit about your time of the month." Sadly, he knew exactly when Letty was hormonal; she was on the same sync as his sister and both of them turned to ice-cream like it was going out of fashion. His little sister would curl up with a hot water bottle and claim that Dom would never understand the pain. Letty would pretend like nothing had changed but would slink away from rough-housing with the guys for a few days. So Dom was pretty good at picking up on the girls 'evil week'.

"What happened Wednesday?" she turned like a spitfire, eyes drilling into him.

"I was working late." he replied shortly. "Like I said." He had his arms crossed on his chest, expecting the next assault. "We never agreed Letty, you know what work is lik-"

"You always work late infront of the tv?" she took a step from the car to go toe to toe with him. The height difference would have put a lesser person off, but Letty held her ground.

"What you on about?" Now she was finally talking, Dom didn't need to shout to get through to her.

"You weren't working, you were watching tv. Mia was texting me."

"This is what this is about?" he let out a single chuckle. "You got blue ballsed and are pissed off with me?"

"What?" Letty didn't understand.

"You get all worked up and wound tight thinking about Wednesday and you just weren't satisfied with your own fingers?" Confident Letty wasn't going to sock him one, Dom advanced, walking her back until she was against the Peugeot's bodywork.

"You sa-" Letty's cheeks were firing red, he was already alluding to the fact she couldn't satisfy herself with a joke on his lips.

"I was working, Let." He crowded her completely, his body a centimetre away from pressing against her. "Feel free to think of me when I'm not there." His voice dripped with tease, his fingers dragging the inside of her thigh to her sex slowly.

Letty batted his hand away but with little room to manoeuvre, all she managed was to lock around his wrist and still him.

"You're lying to me." she snapped, her eyes glaring at his.

"You think I've got time to go and find some other girl? Is that what's pissing you off?"

"Like you have to try." she bitterly corrected.

"We're expanding the garage." he announced softly, his hand remaining where she locked it, fingers resting on her sex, the other pinning her at her waist to the car.

"I don't care." she lied, turning her head from him.

"Like fuck you don't. You got yourself into this mess."

"I'm done." Letty hissed, pushing harder, breaking their contact and stepping out from his frame.

Dom's fingers snared around her wrist and brought her crashing back to him, spun around and once again flush against the Peugeot. "Let me go, Dom." she protested, a threat in her tone, a promise in her eyes.

"You wanted me Wednesday, three days haven't changed that."

"You're an asshole." She knocked a hand away but remained as she was.

"An asshole you still want to fuck." His eyes crashed to herself with no trace of anger, but a playful tease had returned. "Right?" he didn't need to ask, he could read it on her body. He sealed them together, hip to hip.

"No." she lied, even hearing how false it was in her own ears. "I don't care about you anymore."

"Alright." he spoke, no indicated he believed her at all in the way he crowded her, the way he rocked his hardness into her.

"I don't want you." The lies kept coming.

"Sure." he breathed. "You've got no interest in me whatsoever." His hands left her hips, one dragged her thigh up to hike over his, bringing her core to core, unable to pretend she didn't feel his semi. The other roamed over her tank top, grabbing a handful of her right breast and rolling a thumb over where her nipple stretched out through bra and top for him. "You don't want this." he whispered to her.

"You don't want me." Her insecurity slid out with her mind filter trying to stop her from purring like a kitten for him.

"I want you." he swore darkly, a promise he couldn't break however much he had wanted to. "Can't you feel how much I want you?" he knocked his groin against her and pulled her tighter to him. No longer satisfied with her minimal response, he dove his hand under her top, pushing the bra up off her breasts and rolling the pad of his thumb over her erect nipple.

Letty's eyes closed, her head crashing to his shoulder as she tried to remember to breathe and savour the moment.

"Letty." he grumbled out, needing more. He jolted her from her feet entirely, wrapped around his waist and pinned to a car, he guided Letty to drape across the roof, his lips chasing kisses up her stomach, hands pushing the material higher until he latched his mouth around her nipple, fingers tracing rings around the other.

She moaned loudly, a sound that was pure ecstasy to his ears.

This Letty had no inhibitions about where she was, what she looked like or how much stomach fat he saw. This Letty had sensations like she had _never_ felt before spinning through her.

The way Dom was playing with her nipples was nothing she had ever experienced. It was 10 times the pleasure she could ever give herself and all he'd done was suck on her nipple.

Hungry for more, Dom switched to the other nipple, fingers sliding the bud in his saliva as he swapped over.

Letty's hands were quick learners, wrapping on his head, keeping him to her.

Too bad he was a man into tease.

"You want me to keep going?" he broke his lips seal, his breath tickling over her pebbled nipple and sending electric lust from nipple to clit.

"Yes, yes. Please, yes." she begged like he was so accustomed to hearing.

But his lips didn't return to her aching nipples that seemed to swear they would be solely responsible for an orgasm if he would only bring his attention back to them. His lips pressed to her chest, his fingers remaining only on one nipple.

"Keep going?" he asked again.

"Yes."

Another kiss landed just above her belly button and Letty felt she was a thousand degrees, her stomach swirling with unreleased pleasure. She felt wet between her legs, wet like she'd never been before. His attentions made her previous explorations seem like a desert storm.

"More?"

"Yes." Letty was jolted as her feet found ground again, as wobbly as they were. She clung to Dom's half embrace as his finger and thumb paused on the button of her jeans.

"Letty?"

"Yes. Dom. Yes." she snapped out.

She heard a chuckle before he was knocking her top back up and over her breasts, head bowed to reclaimed a nipple in his mouth as his fingers popped the button on her jeans, the zipper dashed down.

He felt her virgin nerves remind her of who she was.

There was no need for that.

"Rightie likes me better." His fingers came back to tap on her right nipple. She bolted her eyes to him with question. "Yeah." Both hands were rolling both nipple simultaneously and she was moaning in his ears as she held herself stable against him; her legs pretty much useless. "Leftie doesn't reach out as much." His commentary was unnecessary as Letty was a million miles away from hearing him, lost in pleasure land. "But I like leftie." Dom continued his war for the favourite nipple as Letty revelled in the sensations, it wasn't until she realised her hips were grinding against his fingers that she understood his fingers were no longer attached to each nipple.

Still covered by her panties, Dom's fingers were skilfully rubbing the nub of nerves she was grinding against him. Her underwear was soaked with her juices and he was desperate to knock her panties aside and slide his fingers, and dick, into her tight heat. But her virgin death grip on his shoulders anchored him. "You feel how wet you are, Let?"

"Uhh."

"Can't deny you want me now." he chuckled.

"Asshole." she spoke on a short breath.

"I can stop?" he offered, fingers stilling.

Her grip tightened on him, her wobbly legs tried to find purchase to grind herself on him again.

"Dom, please." she begged.

He couldn't deny her when she moaned his name so desperately.

Rubbing circles into the bundle of nerves, it didn't take long before Letty was panting in his ear, taking shallow breaths for deep long moans and tensing on him as she crashed into a hard orgasm. He held her tight as she breathed against him, withdrawing his hand from her jeans to encircle her properly.

"Yeah, we're expanding." Dom spoke after a few long seconds of listening to her breath chase in and out of her, her lips against his neck as she clung to him. "You're to blame actually. When we were talking about the other lot next door."

She pulled away and lifted her head to him. "Com'on, leave the Peugeot and I'll drive you home." he offered before she could feel awkward or demand he fuck her then and there. He didn't know how strong he was to say no.

"Dom." She dropped her eyes purposefully before clashing back to his. "What about you? Can I…?"

"Next time." He pressed a kiss to her confused brow and stepped back. "Think you can walk, Bambi?" he laughed, spiking her back to normal Letty defiance as she slipped from his hold and caught herself on the car.

Dom started turning off the lights, a hike in his step that must not be comfortable.

When he got back around to Letty, she still looked thoroughly pleased, pink cheeks and messed sex hair, but she had her jeans back zipped up and bag slung over her shoulder.

"We're expanding?" she asked as her brain came back.

"That's the plan, you got any requests?" Dom smiled, leading her to his car.


	21. Chapter 21

Reviewers, readers, favourite-ers; I think you are all so wonderful for sticking with me for this. Your support makes me feel amazing, so thank you, so much.

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty One; Deals**

Dom's week was built with expansion plans. His father sat with him for finances, practical application and plans for the build. Between the daily grind and the blueprints, Dom had been dying for Friday night races to finally get away from his responsibilities.

On Friday night, there was him and his car for those few blissful moments of pure adrenaline. Nothing else in the world came into view and it was calm in the eye of chaos.

When the thunder of the engine died, the noise of life roared loud and the pressure crashed back onto his shoulders, but his Friday race was all he needed to keep carrying the burden for the next week.

Therapy in the most concentrated form.

So when the forecast for Friday night was grim; piddling down rain and heat storms from mid afternoon to tomorrow morning, Dom had his sour face on.

He rolled up to the school at 15:15 expecting to pick up two wet teenagers with moods to rival his own. Instead, there was one. One wearing an almost see-through soaked school blouse, a blazer held over her head in an action that would be more suited to his baby sister.

Letty threw herself into the backseat the second he stopped the car.

"Fucking rain." she complained loudly. "And why is it so fucking hot outside?!" The grumbling continued until Dom physically turned in his seat, eyebrow raised at her cursing and the missing teenager. "She's going to watch some stupid sappy chic flick with her friends." Letty continued without missing a beat. "She called your dad at lunch and he said it was okay." Dom rolled his eyes and turned back to the road, sliding it into gear and pulling away from the weekend-eager students dashing mindlessly in the rain. "Can we go to the garage?" Letty's head appeared next to his as he stopped at the next traffic light.

"Why?"

"Vince said you finished fixing up the clone."

"And?" Dom asked with a smirk, her presence seeming to warm his cold front.

"I just wanna see her again." Letty slid a hand over the front seat and let it settle in a half hug. "Maybe you'll let me drive her?" she tilted her head, the ends of her hair tickling his bicep as he drove on. His laughter bounced around the car with mirth, bad mood all forgotten.

"You think I will?"

"I think you would have turned left if you didn't want to at least negotiate with me about it." Letty smiled knowingly as Dom turned away from his usual route to their streets and instead favoured the route to the garage.

"Negotiate, huh?" his gear stick hand reach up to where her hand circled his chest, fingers running over hers softly. "You think you got something worth a trade?"

"You said last time… you'd let me explore." Letty's words danced from her lips straight to his ear, spinning a million scenarios in his head; Letty on her knees sucking him, Letty's fingers wrapped around him, Letty straddling him, Letty riding him, Letty pulling her orgasm face all over again as he shot into her.

"That would be _two_ favours for you." He earned himself a smack to the chest and the thud as Letty flopped herself back on the backseat.

"Com'on Dom, this is so not fair, everybody els-" Lettys protests that everybody else had already done it could get Mia in some deep questioning so she re-arranged her argument. "I want to."

"Still not hearing much negotiation here, you just keep asking for favours, Let." He grinned to her in the rear view mirror, earning an exaggerated frown. He found himself laughing again, a freedom in her presence he couldn't explain.

"I'll do your phone duty tomorrow." she bartered.

"We're expanding to keep customers, not have you scare all of them off." he jibed, amused by her exasperation.

"I'll do your MOT's?" she continued offering.

"On top of your own?"

"I'll work this evening." Letty fired out. When Dom didn't have an immediate reply shooting her down, she continued. "You guys are already behind and there won't be any races tonight, so you need everyone you can get to get the cars fixed up, as well as mod up all your own." Letty's face came with a winning smile over his shoulder again. "You need me."

"You work weekends." Dom replied, though his dad wouldn't be there to know. And he didn't mind paying her out of his own wage for the hours. And it would help out. It would even mean he could work on his own car.

"Com'on, your dad will be gone in an hour, Mia is probably going to ask to sleepover at her friends because its shit weather. And all I want is a test ride. I'll even wax her afterwards if you want."

"Well…" Dom started, both of them already knowing he was going to give in to her. "I _was_ going to give the car to Vince."

"What?!" Letty landed another slap to his arm. This one had a bit more effort behind it.

"His cars a P.O.S." Dom defended, another laugh breaking free.

"His car is fine. He loves it. He doesn't need a new car, and you know Vince won't let me drive her if you do."

"You might have to barter with Vince." Dom continued the tease; there was no way he was just giving this car to Vince. He enjoyed beating his ass too much to give him a better car than the piece of shit he was driving.

"You want me to offer to suck Vince off?" Letty passive aggressively hissed at him. "That's sick."

"Woah, woah. I do not need that image in my head." Dom cringed, pulling up to the garage again.

"Well I did offer for it to be you instead of Vince, but apparently, that doesn't barter well." she sneered and pulled herself out of the car.

Dom watched with a smile as she grabbed her spare clothes out of the locker and took off to the toilet.

His father was just tugging on his coat as Dom stepped into the office again.

"Mia called. Said they got the wrong time for the movie, it's two hour later. She's gunna sleep over at Mandy's tonight instead of coming back late." Mr T set his mobile back into his pocket, obviously just come off the phone with her.

"I'll text her before I go to bed." Dom agreed before his father could asked.

"I don't expect she will, but if she needs picking up, Mandy's address is in the book under the tv drawers."

"Or I could just text Mia for it."

"Or that." Mr T grinned. "It's looking good. Mr Acupent got back to me, the lot next door is on the market pretty cheap, probably as a result of the failing history. We might need to look into new recruits though."

"I've got some names in mind." Dom grinned, there were a few of the fellow racers who would appreciate getting paid for doing what they loved.

"I'm sure you do. Write some names and details down when you get a few minutes." But Mr T paused as he held the door open. "Did I see Letty just now?"

"She left something in her locker."

"She needed to change into her work boots for that?"

"Women." Dom offered as an explanation with a shrug.

"Uh-huh." Mr T didn't sound like he believed a thing but carried on walking out the door, tossing a goodbye over his shoulder with a wave to the boys in the shop.

* * *

"Alright, you want this?" It was gone 9, the shutters had closed, music was blaring and the boys were in high spirits. Work had trickled down from other peoples cars to tuning their own. "You really think you can handle this?" Dom taunted, running a hand over himself out of view of the others.

The double meaning was not lost on her.

"I can handle it." She wasn't as weak as they made her out to be.

"Sure you can, princess." Vince snorted derisively from the next car over. He earned a glower worth of the devil himself.

Dom intervened with an idea he had been toying with for the last few minutes. Dom knew he was impulsive, but he was also quick on his feet, able to react within a split second, and this still seemed like a good idea.

"The way I see it, I've got an extra car." Dom announced to the workshop. Jesse and Leon were shoving each other in front of the engine but paused their mock feud. "And your scrap metal ain't gunna be winning you anymore races in its current state." he addressed to Vince.

"Like hell it won't. She's a beauty and you're jealous." he scoffed a laugh.

"You really think that car has any chance on this beast?" Dom baited the way he knew to best, stroking his hand over the bodywork of the baby he had built and won.

"Hell yes. I'll race you for it." Vince grunted out, pride demanding he fight.

"No, you can't make a deal with Vince!" Letty snapped, she had been so close to Dom agreeing to let her borrow it! "He'll never let me drive it!"

"Rightly so." Vince laughed.

"Tell you what Letty, the car is yours." And he paused for the catch everyone knew was coming. "If you can beat Vince in it."

"Seriously?" she asked, eyes wide. "Like -mine to own- mine?" she clarified.

"You gotta win it first." But Vince wasn't acknowledged. Letty was squealing as Dom nodded.

"I can't believe you're seriously serious about this! You're the best!" Letty threw herself around Dom squeezing him a hug for all of a second before she was turned to the car, eyes sparkling with amazement.

"Woah. He ain't just giving you a car." Vince grunted again, squaring up to her. "And I get to pick the course." He drew a smile on his face, one that destroyed Letty's confidence. "Backalley shift." he called, as Letty feared.

Backalley shift was a mostly single file route between old crumbled houses and back alleys with numerous curves, turns and needed quick reaction times, precise handling and immaculate speed control.

The car's engine mattered little here; it was all about the driver.

Vince had the experience, the knowledge and the years of practice on the course he grew up on.

Letty had been born with gut and need, an urge to live and breathe cars that she had nurtured into some form of skill but she hadn't been bled into it like Vince.

Letty turned back to Dom.

He had his blank face on, the one she had trouble reading. She got a mixture of worry, pride and arrogance in the split second he met her eyes.

"Seems fair." Dom agreed.

It wasn't fair, it was far from fair.

But this was Letty's answer.

A free car.

It meant so much more than a free car though. It meant her money in her pocket was truly hers. It meant chocolate, it meant food shopping she didn't have to carefully budget and add up when her mother forgot to leave her money out.

It was black silk underwear to entice Dom with.

Even as simply as school trousers she didn't have to hike up every other lesson because they were too big for her.

It would change her life.

For Vince, it was just another car to add to the history of ones that would, and had, ended up trashed.

But chance was against her, luck was against her.

"When she loses." Vince came again, a cocky confidence in his voice that she wanted to punch away. "She admits she can't handle the ride." Vince proposed.

"And when you lose, you admit you can't drive for shit." Letty snapped back, Vince's arrogance tripping a temper switch in her head.

A smart person would decline the challenge. A self assured person would laugh it off and say they were stacked odds. A stronger person would walk away.

But a desperate teenager seeing a light at the end of a dark tunnel would run straight into it, mindless of the dangers.

The prize was worth the humiliating risk.

"Deal." Vince grunted, spitting into his hand and sticking it out to shake.

"Not touching that." Letty recoiled from the offending object. "But, yeah, deal." She extended her hand to shake thin air and turned back to the car that would possibly be her baby.

Dom's ride's twin. Perfect and powerful.

It may as well have been Dom's.

In her head, she saw them side by side, King and Queen.

"I'm ready now." Vince arched his back, head turned up to the ceiling where the rain continued to pelt down. A challenge in his open arms.

"Tomorrow after work." Dom's voice boomed over the shop; he wasn't sending out Letty to risk her life in the weather, not with such poor visibility on such tight corners, in such a powerful car. It was a suicide risk he wasn't gambling with. Vince opened his mouth to protest but Dom's glare cut him off. "We'll call it a night, boys. Work will be waiting tomorrow."

Slowly, one by one, they packed up and left.

Letty found herself moving through the shops, turning off the lights as Dom followed.

"Are you serious about giving the winner your car?" she asked quietly. She still couldn't believe it.

"Yeah. I don't need it. Already got one." he smirked, wrapping an arm over her shoulders.

"If I won, can I really have it?"

"If?" he questioned, raising an eyebrow to her. "You losing confidence, Let?"

"I don't have any advantage to beat him." she spoke the fact they both knew. "It would be luck and luck alone if I won."

"Or, it would be a hairpin corner Vince always swings too wide on." Dom suggested quietly. "Maybe the incline he downshifts too late for." Dom continued. "Or perhaps the-"

"- **You** don't always beat Vince on this track. I don't stand a chance." she enlightened him as he pushed the main door open and once again she ran to the newly unlocked car as he locked up behind him. Dom was nuts if he thought she could do what he can't.

Dom shook the droplets from his head as he sat back into the driver's seat.

"Vince is good at this track." Dom started, talking over the loud pings of rain. "But, you drive very differently to me and Vince."

"I do not." she protested, taking the comment as an insult.

"You do." he continued, a smile on his face. "You're not as reckless as we are."

"And?"

"This isn't the track for reckless, all-out power competition." Dom reached over, a hand to move hair from her face. "Keep a cool head, keep your corners tight and you've got a better chance than anybody else that races."

Letty quizzed Dom about the track all the way until he pulled up outside her house.

Confused Letty paused her analysis of the right times to upshift and suddenly felt herself embarrassed; she had assumed Dom would want her to come over to his house. There was no dad, no Mia.

"Your mum in?" he asked and Letty found her smile return.

"Night shift." she answered, not knowing if it was true at all, either way, her mother wouldn't be in any position to know her daughter's location.

"You wanna come ov-"

"Yes." Letty sat herself back in the seat comfortably. Dom met her with a wide toothy smile.

"You wanna get a shower or a clothes change first?" he asked with a smirk.

Letty looked down at the school clothes she'd changed back into. "I mean, I dig a naughty school girl fantasy as much as the next guy, but just figured you might want something more comfortable."

 _Like the matching red underwear under her bed_ , her brain offered.

"I'll be over in an hour?" It would give her time to shower and sort out whatever mess her mother had left her.

"You want take-out?"

Letty felt her heart swim inside her chest. It was almost like a real date.

"Chinese?"

"You're having your own spring rolls this time though." he grunted, rolling his eyes as he recalled the last time his spring rolls had vanished after takeout with the girls. Letty had worn the guiltiest face of the two.

"Extra prawn crackers?" she asked hopefully. Dom usually got through a bag all by himself.

"Alright. My treat, but I get to choose the movie."

"Deal." Letty agreed for the second time that night and dashed through the rain to her front door. Letty found it unlocked and stepped herself inside to the darkness of the hallway. As expected, Dom didn't move until the light was turned on and he saw her move through the house turning on lights as she went.


	22. Chapter 22

Good Morning, I heard your prayers for more.

I do hope you mind the M-gap. If you think it might be a stretch too far, I recommend jumping to the next chapter and we'll just say they cuddled ;)

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty Two; Pleasuring**

"Mom?" Letty called out, making her way through the house, illuminating the kitchen and finding the coffee pot empty and unwashed. She dragged the pot to the washing up bowl. "Mom?" she called again.

With a sigh, Letty resigned herself to tidy up after her mother again.

She would probably be asleep on the sofa again.

She should have at least locked the front door.

But as Letty cleared the kitchenware, she wandered towards the washing machine mechanically, passing the empty living room.

"Mom?" This was odd.

Letty turned herself back to the hallway, but the housekeys weren't laid on the floor, her handbag wasn't hooked upside down and her work shoes were gone.

But… the front door had been unlocked, hadn't it?

Alarmed, Letty grabbed the cold, drained coffee mug from where it was deposited on the hallway floor and braced it ready to slam into any intruder's head.

Letty turned every light in the house on in a systematic manner, pulling open wardrobe doors and peering under bed in case the unlocked door came with a mystery guest harbouring malicious intentions.

But heart rate decreased and house searched tip to toe Letty was left with the conclusion she hated; her mother had forgotten to lock the door.

She hadn't been this bad before.

She forgot to get food, she forgot meal times, she forgot clothes and ironing, she forgot times and appointments, but she never put them in any real danger.

Letty briefly considered ringing Dom, to ask him to second check the house. But would he think her silly?

He'd definitely ask how it happened…

Letty sighed and sunk herself against the bathroom door.

Maybe Aunt Carol was right.

Maybe they did need help.

But everyone made mistakes. Maybe it was just a one off.

Letty locked herself in the house as she conducted a second, non-armed search, before undressing and showering.

She was thankful she didn't have to stay in the house alone tonight.

No, tonight, she had Dom.

Dom.

A smile turned up the corners of her lips.

Making an effort of shaving and moisturising, again, Letty felt amazing as she took the red underwear up her legs once more, turning in the mirror as it finished the look of the bra.

Dom would like it.

Her hair dripped onto her shoulders and legs as she moved around, but within 45 minutes, Letty was dashing across the streets, umbrella in hand, hoodie and jeans paired with her favourite boots.

Mia had text with a very supportive:

 _OMG, we HAVE to go back to that sale. Alex went nuts when he saw the underwear, I will tell you everything tomorrow!_

* * *

Letty was full, happy and sleepy as she relaxed into Dom's embrace.

She sat in the space his legs made for her, back to his chest with a knee either side of her. His left had been home to the prawn crackers, his right the spring rolls, and he had stolen from her plate over her shoulder the entire time she had been watching the movie's premise take place.

He'd stuffed his face with his own beef noodles the second the delivery man had left, apparently Letty had taken longer than the local Chinese to get ready.

The movie was one she hadn't seen, one about a magical scroll giving the reader immortality until it was passed down via an ancient ritual of fulfilled prophesies. There were kick ass fight scenes, and even a bad ass female Letty identified very strongly with.

"He's totally getting his ass kicked." Letty commented, now lazily stretched out against Dom as they slunk down on the bed, stomach full and happily content.

"Hmm." Dom agreed quietly. But the lack of commentary and opinions from Dom was odd, Dom loved his narrating with movie fight scenes, he liked to say they were impossible due to earth physics not allowing such a move. Most of the time he was right, but he still liked to point it out. So after the bad ass women on tv flew through the air like magic, she was expecting his reiteration of such point. Instead she got arms tightened around her, a deep breath from him that had her turning around expecting him to be sleepily staring at her.

Instead, she found his eyes peering over her shoulder, down her body, his thoughts wayward.

"What?"

"What what?" he asked, clicking back to himself.

"You're staring at me." she pointed out.

"And?" he shot her that kinky smirk again, playful Dom was stretching awake inside his mind. "You're damn nice to stare at." he continued, enjoying the red tint that bloomed on her cheeks.

Letty's secret sexy underwear was burning at her mind, desperate to no longer be a secret.

"It's an old hoodie." she replied, pointedly tugging at the material. It was well faded from a million washes, it had holes for thumbs in the sleeves and the cotton was threadbare at best.

"You'd look better without it." His hands were quick to slide under her hoodie's material, their hug resumed skin to skin, his arms forming a tight seal around her again.

"I could take it off." she suggested, eyes turned over her shoulder to catch his reaction again.

There was her cheeky smile again, one that was game for playing whatever game he conjured.

She watched him pause and then felt his hands pat up and down from stomach to hoodie; surely to realise she had forgone the tshirt tonight.

"You should definitely take this off." he agreed, but gave her full control of the speed as she pulled the sleeves slowly off her arms and pulled the hoodie over her head to drop on the floor.

Dom's arms returned as they had been before, snared around her waist as innocently as if it was just a hug, but his chin rested on her shoulder as he dragged her back to him, his eyes clearly burning at her red bra.

"You'd look better without this." Letty tugged at his wife beater, where she could reach at his side.

"Hmmmm. It's already a good view." His words were a purr to her ears.

"It can get better." She tested the waters of his want once more. If this was his appreciation of her bra, surely it would only get better.

"Yeah?" he asked, loosening his hold to let her remove however much she wanted to.

He leered as she leant back to pop the button on the jeans. He lived every dirty dream he had had as she lifted up to pulled the jeans off her ass, showcasing matching underwear as she leant forward to pull the jeans off her bare legs and onto the floor.

"Damn Letty." he growled into her neck as she seductively returned to his body, like nothing had changed.

"You like?" she asked, innocently sweet, like she hadn't just stripped down to her sexy underwear in front of him. Like she was asking about a damn pair of boots she'd tried on.

"Fuck yes." Dom's hands, so strong and careful became wanderers, cautious and warm. He left the safety of her waist to take a hand to her bra, lifting the breast and cup testingly in his palm, the other ran over her stomach, down to slide over the material of her panties and nestle between her closed thighs, not doing anything, just to sit in the warmth of her body. "Letty, you sure?"

"You said you'd let me…" How many more times could she beg to let her touch him and be turned down?

"Let me get you off first, yeah?"

Letty's body turned to molten lava, like she would say no to such an offer?

"Yeah." she agreed, sinking down into him as he laid her out against his body.

"Show me what you do, Let." he encouraged, his voice a whisper below the TV danger music. "When you lay alone in bed and figure you'll play with yourself so you'll sleep easier."

Letty felt panic tickle her mind, dragging her emergency knowledge straight to the forefront- faking it. "Do you play with your nipples Letty? Stare at yourself in your sexy little outfit," his hands both went to her chest, knocking the bra up and over her breasts. He'd done this before, but there was something different about the bedroom light shining down on her that made her want to hide.

But Dom liked his girls confident, he like them to know exactly what they wanted. "And play with these little sensitive buds." His fingers tweaked her pebbled nipples and Letty dropped her head to the hollow of his collarbone. "Get them all tight and wanting." He rolled the tips of her breasts in his rough fingers, instantly drowning her in arousal, her thighs squeezing together in an attempt to regain some control over the pool in her matching panties. "Bet they like all the attention, maybe a little pinch." His thumbs and fingers pulled her nipples and Letty felt the sensation all the way down to her toes. He repeated the motion, pinching and lightly twisting her nipples. It looked painful, it looked abusive, but it felt amazing.

It was so much more than when she did this herself. So much more. It was easy to believe she could get addicted to Dom's attention to her breasts; she never felt this when she did this herself- never.

"Give me your hands, Letty." he ordered quietly and she raised up the hands that were grabbing his denim glad legs. He took a hand in each of his and took them both to her breasts, where his had been and he manipulated them to touching herself, to teasing her nipples, to caressing each breast. Dom hand's remained over her left breast, encouraging her attentions to remain. His right hand blazed a brain melting trail down to her hips, fingers dipping under the band of the panties, pausing enough to give her the chance to turn him down, to say to stop. And when she only moaned loud in response to lefties nipple being tugged again did he take his fingers into her womanly curls.

Letty's legs found themselves parting, shuffling on the bed to give him better access, to give herself better purchase to grind against him.

Letty felt the pleasure shoot up her spine as he found her clit, as his fingers felt the wetness in her pubic hair, as he groaned aloud direct to her ear.

Fuck.

Letty's brain that had been silent and happy finally kicked into full panic mode, what if it didn't happen, what if Dom thought she was broken, what if he refused to touch her again. It had happened before with him, but what if that was a fluke.

What if…

His breath was hot and fast across her skin as he took his two fingers on the personal circular tour of her clit in a way that had her feeling perfectly at bliss.

She needed to do this well. She needed to get over the idea of faking it and just do it.

Five steps, she reminded herself.

Something about the face, the tight hands, the moan and… Letty flailed inside her mind desperately clinging to the memory of what she had forgotten.

"You feel so good, Let." Dom grunted across her shoulder.

 _Now_ , her brain supplied.

Letty moaned loud and long, dragging a memory of tensing her muscles to the forefront and tensing herself. With her hands on her breasts, Letty suddenly felt like an idiot as she squeezed them.

Dom's hands stopped and Letty wondered how long she should do this before claiming it was the best thing ever and rolling over to return the favour.

"That was…"

"A really bad fake orgasm." Dom finished for her with a laugh. "What the hell, Letty?" he wasn't angry, no, he was amused.

"No it wasn't." she lied, drawing her knees up to her chest and covering her chest with crossed arms.

"Yes. Yes it was." he chuckled. "Maybe you forgot, but I remember exactly what you look like when you cum on my fingers, Letty."

Heat flashed through her like the bolts of lightening outside.

"It's fine, but you said I coul-"

"We made a deal for me getting you off Letty. I'm perfectly happy to deal with myself until you're ready."

"I am ready." she bit out sharply.

Dom chuckled, but he withdrew his hand from her panties, grabbed her waist and Letty found herself lifted, back to the duvet with her bra being slid down her arms and dropped to the floor. Dom encroaching over her. When had he even unhooked it? she wondered absently as she looked up at him.

"You try to fake it again, and I won't touch you for a year." he promised darkly. Letty felt every retort of how he couldn't do that, of how that wasn't fair, of how it wasn't a big deal, of how every woman did it, but they all dropped at Dom's sharp look. They all died as Dom's lips finally came crashing back to hers.

Finally, Letty felt like she was alive again, Dom was swimming in her veins in the good ways he did. His tongue slipped into her mouth, his body sinking closer to hers as he held his weight close.

Letty's hands were quick to claim him, fingers hooking over his shoulders tangling with the wifebeater he had still yet to take off. She felt his tongue dance against hers and she moved in turn, like they'd done this for years.

She realised she had a leg hiked up on his hip when a hand came to still it.

"You ready?" he whispered against her lips. "Then take your panties off." he demanded when he felt her nod against him.

Letty's hands paused for a second but her mental resolve was stronger than her lack of self esteem and she snaked her hands from his shoulders to between them where she hooked her thumbs into the cotton and drew her legs up between their bodies to drag them off of her. Hidden by his body from the harsh light of his bedroom, she closed her eyes and pretended she could still feel his lips as his mouth moved lower, his pauses lengthened as he so very clearly stared out at her body, nude and vulnerable.

"Spread your legs, Letty." he urged, fingers on her hips. "Up on my back." His lips returned to hers and like another hit of a drug, Letty was locking her ankles on his lower back, her legs spread under him, just as he wanted.

Her rewards was another breath taking kiss, then a nipple that was sinfully sucked until she cried in pleasure.

When she felt his fingers back between her legs, spreading the wetness she was practically leaking she was slipping into panic mode again. But then there was Dom, sliding a finger into her slowly.

Brain power shut itself down to make more room for bliss.

He withdrew the finger slowly, the stretch and burn tingling up her spine in a painful way that didn't quite register as unpleasant. When he returned, finger up to the knuckle in her, Letty moaned long and loud. Again, more, as long as he didn't stop.

The finger pumped into her until she felt the stretch again, Dom's lips worrying her right nipple in a swap she was desperate for. The air in the room traced the freed wet nipple and more electric currents went from nipple to clit.

Dom twisted his fingers inside her and sawed in and out slowly at first, and then there was a sensation beyond anything Letty knew. A noise slipped from Letty's lips that sounded like pure pornography. And it just kept coming, Dom was rubbing something inside her that just made her wetter, hotter and higher. Her breaths were running short and shallow. He drilled his fingers over the same spot of immense happiness and Letty felt her body slam tight, all muscles locking as she cried out her orgasm.

There was a chuckle and a pant of breath in reply as Dom carefully withdrew his fingers.

Letty opened her eyes and unfisted his wifebeater to see Dom's fingers, the ones that had been between her legs, slip into his mouth.

She watched obscenely as he dragged them out of his mouth, eyes opening to give her a look that had her bones melting.

Fuck.

Letty smelled like sex and sin and he was more than happy to get drunk on her. To sink between her legs and dive his tongue into her to have her writhing, calling out his name, to feel her butterfly fast walls flutter around his cock as she came on him. He looked at her messed hair and wild eyes and he wanted to pound into her over and over.

His pulse was hammering in his dick for any kind of attention that meant out of his tight jeans.

Her nervous fingers, her virginal mouth, her wet cunt.

Dom groaned and dropped his head to the bedding besides Letty, giving her the time to breath out what had to be a killer orgasm. Girl had a g-spot that loved her. And her tits, god, they were so sensitive. He always heard small breasted women were more responsive on their nipples, but damn, Letty's seemed to have a direct link to her pussy. They certainly stopped all concern for her appearance and worries. And she looked like a goddess on his bedspread under his weight, clinging to him with every breath that rolled through her.

"Dom?" she breathed, a hand to his head in concern.

"I'm good." he answered softly. "Just… hard to not do all the things I want while I have you here." He lifted his head to give her another smile, she answered back with the pink blush he was beginning to get a fetish for.

Another fetish he didn't need when every bit about Letty was turning him on already.

Hard and aching, he needed release.

He wanted her fingers wrapped around his dick, at the very least he could take matters into his own hands again.

He turned back to her, she was still dragging breath after breath, trying to find some stability in her body after the firework had exploded in her mind.

Dom grinned to himself, a male pride swelling in his chest.

"Letty, I gotta…" she turned to his eyes but she was still out of it. He pressed a kiss to her and stood, making his way to the bathroom, thankful of the empty house once again.

He had his hand on his dick before he was even in the bathroom, not bothering to close the door, or aim, he just pulled the too hot top from over his head and shimmied the jeans and boxers down as he worked himself as he liked it.

"Dom." He turned sharp to the soft sound.

His little lamb had followed, brain power enough to pull on her panties as she stood at the doorframe, glowing and barely holding herself on her dizzy legs. "Please."

Fucking hell, how the fuck was he meant to say no to anything when she looked at him sexed up and whispering pleases to his ears.

He didn't need much more to finish himself.

He took his hand off his dick and Letty was already crossing the bathroom, one hand over her naked breasts, the other outstretched, eyes wide and amazed.

As much as Dom wanted her on her knees sucking him, or speeding over his length with her small hands, he retained the sense to know she was still virginal to this.

He pulled her close, lips sealing to hers, their different in height little to worry about when she was flush to him as she was now. He wrapped his fingers with her hand again, only this time, he placed their joined digits around his length. He tightened her novice grip and moved them both up and down his length.

She didn't need much tutoring, twisting her hand on him like she'd been doing it for years, probably something she'd pick up from whatever site told her to fake an orgasm. At least this was a good thing. He released his grip entirely, bowing her as he returned back to her left breast, it was a slight size bigger than her right, but it fit in his hand perfectly and stretched out her nipple for his fingers, which proved she was meant for him as his lips sealed over her right nipple which elicited a better moan than her left ever did from his lips.

She was perfect.

Perfect as she worked him to the pace he had set.

Perfect as she panted her breath in his ears.

Perfect as she kept pumping him as he shot his load onto the bathmat and slammed his teeth together just short of snapping a nipple too, the soft groan slipping out as she slowed her masturbation of him.

He stole her lips from her amazed gaze and dropped 'o' mouth, a searing praise tangling with their tongues.

"Get into bed." he grunted softly. "I'll be back in a sec." She remained in his embrace as he stretched out to turn on the shower and Letty's legs finally found themselves again.

"Was that… okay?" she asked, her eyes trying to remain on his face when he could tell she wanted to fulfil her desire to explore.

Next time, he'd let her have her wish, whatever she wanted to do, she could play with him how she wanted, but it would be tit for tat.

"Fucking amazing." he replied. "Go on, get." He slammed a hand to her ass cheek and she jumped before skitting back to his room.


	23. Chapter 23

You asked for more?

Like a Halloween Postman, I am delivering!

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty Three; Get Lucky**

"It. Was. Amazing." Mia whispered in conspiracy as she leaned into the open window of the Chevrolet truck Letty was in.

"What was?" Letty asked, motor mind focussed and depressing the clutch repeatedly. She was 90% sure it was going to need a new gearbox.

"Last night." Mia hissed, poking her friend's arm a little too hard to be a mere nudge. "Focus."

Letty resigned herself to the gear box's fate, but, after lunch.

They sat in the sunshine outside of their wall, this time staring out at the old lot with new eyes.

Not that their attention was on Mia's internal colour palette contemplation when she had juicy gossip.

"He went down on me, Let." Mia rushed out the second she judged they had covered enough boring girl topics to prevent the boys from listening. "It was so good. The underwear worked so well, and he was like literally breathless at seeing them."

"He liked them?"

"Well, I figured I may as well showcase them, and we were watching another movie and I went into his ensuite and figured I may as well surprise him, so I undressed to my underwear and you should have seen his face when I opened the door again. It was jawdropping for him!" Mia released a giddy giggle before controlling herself; lest her brother's attention peak. "And my dad totally bought the cinema excuse like you suggested."

"You two take it any further?" Letty asked, green jealousy creeping into her curiosity.

"No, but… we talked about it." Mia shuffled her feet along the gravel as they swung freely.

"Not a good talk?" Letty guessed from her sudden shyness to talk about it.

"Well, it wasn't a bad talk… it was just that I think I confused him." Only in Mia's world could this happen.

"You confused him?"

"Well, he asked me if I was thinking about it, so I said yes and I did want to do it. But, I kinda followed that up with a bit of a no… because of the pain. I don't wanna end up in hospital."

"You're not going to end up in hospital." Letty laughed.

"Possibly, but he just pulled a confused face at me and then his favourite part of that stupid car people movie came on, so we got into another discussion about that optimus guy."

"Optimus prime. He's not a car-person." Letty laughed.

"It's a stupid concept, cars do not have sentience." Mia scoffed.

"He's not a car. He's an autobot."

"potayto, potahto." Mia dismissed the argument she had evidently had recently.

"You best not be like this if I win myself a car." Letty slipped her secret free and waited for Mia's reaction.

"There's no real car in your cereal box this time." Mia laughed but was met with Letty's 'I know something you don't' look. "OMG, spill."

"Dom won that second ca-"

"Oh my god, no he isn't just giving that to you!" Jealousy was roaring in the youngest Toretto. As much as Mia did not grease up her hands for a car daily, she respected performance and her big brothers hand-me-down should logically go to her, right?

"He's letting Me and Vince race to win it." Letty beamed proudly.

"Urgh, my brother is an asshat."

"If I win it, we can share it." Letty offered, wanting Mia back on her side of this race.

"Absolutely!" Mia threw her arms around Letty. "When, where, how?" she sped out.

"Tonight after work. Backalley shift," Mia winced for her; it wasn't an easy track, not against Vince. "Dom says he's gunna drive it out there and then if I can beat Vince driving it, it's mine. If not, it's Vince's."

"Oh, that car is going home with you." Mia confidently announced.

"It might not…" Vulnerable and lacking in self-assured arrogance, Letty shared her worry.

"I think it might." Mia was cooking up a plan, but she quickly changed conversation, extending a hand to the lot next door. "I'm thinking blue. Bold, bright and yet masculine." Mia tilted her head to her friend, asking an opinion.

Letty rolled her eyes and grabbed her sandwich; this conversation would need sustenance. "Oh, and that reminds me." Mia reached into her handbag and pulled out a deep blue umbrella. "I found your umbrella in the kitchen this morning." Letty froze, hand clenched around her poor sandwich as she tried to hide the rush of blood to her cheeks. "No idea how it got there. Dom probably met up with his girlfriend last night and the bitch borrowed it out of our coat hide." Mia scoffed but passed the umbrella baton across. "Figured you might want it back."

"Thanks." Letty spoke, hair hiding her face, short words hiding her embarrassment. Close call.

* * *

"You ready little brat?" Vince called with humour across the distance.

Letty turned to Mia, the gravel of the start (and also finish) line crunching under her feet. Her mind was racing with the tips Dom had been bias enough to provide.

"You sure this will work?" Letty asked quietly, hearing Vince's booming laugh at her instant rebuttal going amiss.

"100%." Mia assured her, her hands slipping from Letty's to head to the sidelines where Dom stood with Jesse and Leon. Even Hector had turned out, though Letty wasn't sure how he even knew about this. Thankfully, it had been kept small, no racer chasers had turned up to shame her and make a show over Vince.

"Don't get shy on me now, princess." Vince taunted, crossing the space to side up to Letty, his aim to intimidate.

"Why would I be shy, this car is mine." Letty ran her fingers over the smooth bodywork.

"Really? You seriously think you got even a chance of beating me?" his eyes ran from head to toe and back up again with a mocking smile.

"Perhaps not, but you're going to let me win." Letty aimed for confident and against Vince, it came like breathing.

"I don't do charity, short stuff." he scoffed.

"You might want to start, Vinny." Letty found herself enjoying toying with his, especially when it threw him off balance and he leaned in.

"Whatever you think you've got, you haven't." but his hushed tones themselves gave him away as a guilty party.

"So there wasn't a drunk Friday night that Mia would be telling me about?" she twisted her words just enough to have Vince bolt taught like a cat that had just had its tail pulled.

"Fucking hell." Vince muttered under his breath.

"I'm just thinking it might be something better kept between you" A finger prodded to his chest. "And me." She pointed it back at herself. "Dom doesn't need to know, right?"

"… You don't know." Vince tried to call out a bluff, but he had a shade of white to his face that wasn't there before.

"Some guys might not take it so well that their best friend walked into their kid sister's bedroom 'on accident'. Naked." Letty dangled the bait.

"It _was_ an accident." Vince gritted out.

"Perhaps it was, but perhaps we should get Dom's opinion." Letty stepped back as if to call out to Dom.

Vince was quick to bat her hands back down.

"You're blackmailing me?" but the delay in the race start had got Dom curious and he was making his way over.

"You're right. It's not honest to keep such a secret, I should just tell Dom now."

As Mia predicted, Vince found himself selling his soul to a teenage girl.

"I'll give you a chance, but if you can't make it, that's not my fault."

Letty grinned at the giant brother bear she never imagined herself blackmailing and settled into the car that was soon to be hers. She loved Mia.

"You good?" Dom leaned into her window a few seconds later.

"Good." she confirmed.

"Need a little incentive?" Dom purred. Still buzzing from her high of dominating Vince, Letty had an idea in mind.

"I win, you give me third base. Wednesday, while Mia's at club." Letty suggested. Dom grinned wide.

"Horny?" he asked with a smile. "Wednesday. If you win." he repeated and stepped away with a wink.

* * *

"Letty's going to win." Mia spoke, assured in her words as she watched the cars pull to the improvised start line.

"Yeah right." Jesse scoffed. "Vince has done this route like, a million times. Dom struggles to beat him."

"Nope. I can just feel it. Letty's going to win." Because she had a secret weapon the boys didn't.

"Sure she is." Leon placated her with a pat on the head, rolling his eyes for Jesse's view.

"Fine." Mia snapped. "If she does, you two both owe me ice-cream. Cookie dough. The big pot." Mia expanded with a smile.

"Agreed." Both buys agreed without a second thought.

* * *

Letty dropped her trainers into the footwell of the passenger side; driving barefoot was the best way to connect with a car. This baby was already singing to her.

She felt cuddled as she wriggled into the seat, the mirrors seemed to line up perfectly for her height. It was like it was made for her.

She rolled her hands lovingly over the smooth leather of the wheel, planting a kiss to the crown of material and pleaded for the car to deliver the best ride ever.

She believed; between the blackmail and course tips she shouldn't have, this car _would_ deliver.

Vince revved his engine and she turned her head to see him sticking his middle finger to her. Letty returned the favour, her car purring under her accelerator foot.

Jesse stepped forward on the sidelines, the pirate flag they had for their less serious play races in his hands.

Letty revisited what she knew.

Vince wasn't going to hand it to her, she needed to take whatever his opportunity he gave her. However small it may be, from his extended tongue stuck out her way, she was thinking he would give as little as he could whilst still keeping his secret.

Tight, neat corners, Letty reminded herself. Vince always swung wide to block overtaking attempts.

She could handle corners, she loved corners. Her father used to take her on his motorbike with her arms wrapped tight around him, weaving corners and traffic, swaying with the ride of the bike. It felt like home, it felt familiar and it belted her with a warm nostalgia.

It may be Vince's track now, but that was because Letty hadn't been on it yet, right?

She flexed her feet on the pedals, imagining the wind in her head, her fingers dragging the wheel with each turn.

"Ready?" Jesse's voice bounced around her head, was she ready? Hell yes!

This was the world's wake up call to Letty Ortiz!

"Set." Letty gave into her single minded focus and as Jesse spoke the word 'go' Letty unleashed the fire under her hands, roaring away from the shouts of encouragement.

* * *

"Go Letty!" Mia's support came with a scream lost in the noise of hot engines. She witnessed her best friend use the power of the car to get a leg on Vince from the get go. The initial straight length was her best way to get ahead, then… Vince had the advantage. It was like all those times watching Vince and Dom race this course. Letty may deny it, but she had the hot headed temper of her brother. She certainly drove with her brother's cocky arrogance. It was hard to remember it was Letty driving, that she wasn't beside her, screaming her throat hoarse as if the more she supported Dom to win, the greater chance he would finally give up his whore's life for her.

Poor girl.

Mia knew Letty was far from over Dom, but her best friend was doing a whole load better now.

And with a car of her own, Letty would be unstoppable.

All it took was a little information.

Mia grinned to herself as she watched Letty disappear from sight, Vince hot on her tail. Along with the lads, Mia scarpered up to the top of the building, the fire escape ladders providing the ultimate platform to watch the race through the old houses.

Vince was close behind, a little too close for Mia to be comfortable.

But that's why she had to remind him of that Friday night.

That Friday night in question had been an unfortunate accident, at least, that's how Mia saw it. Not that her brother would agree. Strangled by flu symptoms Mia had missed the races and been left behind with cold medicine. It didn't stop her brother from going out and using another girl's bed that night. In exchange, his very very drunk friend was loaned her brother's bedroom.

She'd gotten up to pee in the middle of the night, when she came back, a very confused and very very naked Vince was laid across her bed.

Mia's scream had chased him into Dom's bedroom along with the beatings from Mr Snugglesworth who was very sadly donated to charity the next day when Mia realised just how close Mr Snugglesworth had been to something she did _not_ want to think about. Her sheets had also been amongst the things that were never seen or mentioned again that night.

He'd apologised until he was blue in his drunken face and she figured he had forgotten it the next morning, but every so often, he would cringe when someone mentioned embarrassing drunken behaviour.

He remembered his mistake that night.

Mia heard the sharp intake of breath and flashed her eyes back up to where Letty and Vince were fighting for each corner. The track boasted single file, and overtaking space was limited, but somehow Letty had ended up as Vince's tail, fighting for a chance to slide and take him on a loose corner.

Dust was kicked up with every sharp turn, it was hard to tell who won each corner battle.

It was easier for second place in this race, the front runner took all the burden on quick decision making, second place just had to time their overtake perfectly, when the junctions finished and the track widened.

And then there was always the finish back to the line, the short straight that could change everything.

Mia watched Letty dance with Vince, their cars moving in sync as if they were one unit. It was beautiful; like she was made for this, to live the adrenaline life, one foot on the gas pedal, the other giving a kick to whatever asshole bothered her that day.

Her inexperience showed on a few overskids, a few wide swings she could have taken Vince on, but the rhythm of the track called out to Letty just as it did to Mia.

* * *

Letty found her impatience ebb away, the gentle back and forth roll of the near endless chicanes soothing in their own way. If she could close her eyes, she could picture herself right back on her father's bike, breathing in the stiff smell of his leathers, clinging to them as she rode every tilt and sway.

But the adrenaline was a live wire in her veins, it begged her to be better, to be faster, to be tighter.

She didn't want to rely on the end straight for her victory. She didn't want him to throw the race anymore either. It was such a kick but she wanted to beat him as he was.

Letty finally met Vince side by side as he pulled another corner too wide before she fell back behind him as the street furniture narrowed her path.

She needed to repeat this, to get side by side, but to slam down the gas and slide past him before the next blockade forced them back one behind the other. This time, with Vince in clear second.

Another corner and she could have him.

Letty was right on his tail as they followed the flow of the course, hunting him for each second as they spun around the last tight corner of the houses, Vince's car's rear successfully blocking her attempt to get ahead the same way she almost had last time.

With a curse to Vince's brain working for the first time in this millennia Letty chased behind, running the track as it would press through the empty building lot, anticipating the jump before running the straight back to the finish line where they started.

Vince was first into the industrial lot but Letty was a hair behind, half a second and closing as the track widened enough to allow the cars side by side.

Free, alive and giddy, Letty pressed down on the gas, finally able to upshift from the hell of the curves of the road.

And she took her nose past Vince's car.

It was hers, it was all hers.

Letty felt a thud to the car, jolting her forward, the sound of metal colliding as an accompaniment.

Letty spun in her seat to see the cloud of dust from the building site, her rearview offering nothing more to the sight, no car pulling out straight behind her. Letty took her foot off the gas. The car slowed and she still couldn't pinpoint Vince's Nissan. He wasn't this far behind her.

Was this his sacrifice into letting her win?

Or was this something else?

Letty's foot hovered over the gas pedal once again, should she continue?

But then she saw the rear of Vince's Maxima and she pulled the handbrake, letting the car turn 180 in protest.

Vince?

Had she clipped him?

Shit.

She didn't meant to; they weren't playing dirty.

Letty drove into the site once more only to find Vince climbing out of the driver's seat muttering and grumbling.

"You okay?" she instantly asked, followed by "What happened?" when she saw the engine smoking.

"Pipe." he bit out, four choice swear words flew out.

"What?" Letty turned off her car and stood out as well, her bare feet feeling the heat on the dirt.

Vince was already turned to the perpetrator though, kicking his boots out at the copper piping on the track. "What happened?" Letty asked, though keeping her distance, she still didn't know if she was to blame.

"Nothing." Vince snapped angrily.

"Did… I?" she began.

"No." Vince grumbled. "Look you've got what you want, cross your stupid finish line."

But Letty recognised this; this was hurt pride.

But if she didn't do this…

"Did you hit the frame?"

Vince spun to her with wild eyes.

"Just finish your stupid race and tell Dom to come give me a fucking hand."

* * *

Vince watched Letty get back into the car that was now hers.

How the fuck did she keep pace with him?

How the everloving fuck did she overtake him?!

He wasn't planning on taking the dive until the straight; where it would be most logical.

Letty didn't need to alert Dom, he was already on his way when they spotted the dirt cloud.

Vince was foul of mood when his best buddy pulled up with Leon's car and took a judging look at the state of the vehicle.

"Don't start, just give me a fucking hand." Vince grumbled.

"You crashed to let her win?" Dom guessed.

"Did I fuck?" Vince snapped. "You been driving with her?" he accused straight back.

"I'm not suicidal." Dom joked, but his jovial mood was slipping away. If Vince hadn't thrown the race, and was as pissed as he was; did he not mean to crash? "What happened?"

"She over-fucking-took me!" Vince growled out.

"And you decided to try and overtake her _here_?!" Dom joked, arms outstretched. Vince was always the leader of this track, he gave it the respect and patience, he got ahead of the other party and if he hadn't met them by speed, he knew the curves of the backalley well enough to have you at a corner. Never, had Vince ever been in second position at this point of the course. He'd overshot himself whilst attempting to overtake.

"She got lucky." Vince huffed.

"Yeah." Dom couldn't help but agreed.


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter Twenty Four; Pain**

Monday morning Letty was a ball of hyper energy, bouncing around the school, unable to settle in lessons, eyes forever on the sexiest car in the schools parking lot that belonged to _her_.

Letty and Mia had stepped out of the car and met the jealous eyes of the football jocks, followed by the dropped jaws as they saw their envy was towards two smoking hot babes (sentiment courtesy of Mia). Alex was quick to wrap his attention around Mia, the PDA kicked up to 1000 as he re-claimed his girl before the jocks could get ideas to swoop in and make a move. Mia laughed it off, but she didn't see the way the quarterback leered at her ass or the way his friends all made comments of exactly how Letty got the car. Their ideas seemed to revolve around the new reputation, thanks to that photo and Letty had gone from being invisible to being dirt on their shoes- unless they were horny.

Monday afternoon changed things though, Mia met with Letty and shared a grumbled curse to their gender and Mia's complaints about how she was hoping to spend another night with Alex this week. Instead Mia was planning ice-cream, chocolate and movies time with Letty.

Letty was silently seething, she finally got a date to move forward with Dom and her damn period was here, not that she could explain that anger to Mia, she passed it off as general pissed-off-ness for the cramps.

Tuesday, Letty was begging for an abnormally short period, maybe some way to fix herself.

Wednesday, her prayers unanswered, she had become a force of nature, stomping down the halls of the school in a way not even the principal dared to question. Not even the sex on wheels car that had brought her to school was making her feel better.

Life was unfair.

She was finally getting something she wanted and the powers that be decide to sweep it out from under her. She hadn't told Dom, she didn't want to cancel if it would go away, besides, the embarrassment would kill her. Not to mention Mia and her had eaten the chocolate he had bought for himself- they needed it more, it had tasted great as a topping to their ice-cream.

But now, she had little other option but to cancel on him.

Her libido called her all sorts of horrible names and went back to sulking.

She pulled her mobile out of her jeans and hammered her fingers over the keyboard, telling him not to bother coming over. It was last class before she could leave, her study period unnecessary when she was only going to seethe in it. She felt the vibration of a return text immediately, then another seconds after. The mere thought of what was on the texts irritated her enough that she turned off her phone without reading them.

He was probably telling her he didn't care, that he had another bitch lined up he was taking out. He probably would have been 'busy with work' again and fobbed her off anyway.

Letty found herself worked up into a dark dark mood by the time she slammed her front door. She threw herself into a hot bath as soon as she was in and changed into her favourite, far too big, pyjamas before resigning herself to video game violence. Her anger had ebbed, but self pity had taken its place and it was growing. It wanted the pain of whatever Dom had replied to drown itself in.

It demanded she pause her mission and turn back on the mobile.

' _why?'_

Was the first text, followed by a quick follow up of;

' _you blue ballsing angry again?'_

20 minutes without a reply, Dom had chased her again:

' _Seriously, what are you pissed at me for doing now?'_

It read angrily, it read pissed off, it read like disappointed expectation of the virgin to cock block him. Letty felt the cuts of shame and hurt blast through her, it demanded she lash it out at someone else. And she started typing her pain into a reply instructing Dom to go back to his race whores. But the idea of him back with someone else, holding someone else, kissing someone else… she deleted the text and retyped a self-admitted pathetic message;

' _Don't feel well.'_

More emotionally than physically, but it didn't need clarifying. She returned to her game for all of 5 seconds before the housephone rang. Dread rang through her, was it Dom demanding to know how and why? She'd rather tell him she had the shits than that she was slave to her hormones like every other female. But, surely Dom would ring her mobile. So would her mother. So would Mia.

Letty stretched behind the sofa, pulling the handset from its cradle.

"Hello?" If they were trying to sell her triple glazing, she was in the right mood to verbally eviscerate them.

 _"I knew it!"_ Aunt Carol's voice projected across the line clear and strong. _"You're alone at home aren't you?"_

"Hey Aunt Carol, mom's working right now." Letty answered, relaxing into the sofa again, her hands moving her characters through the map as she cradled the phone on her shoulder.

 _"As she was yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that, and even the day before that. What are the chances?"_ But Aunt Carol was not rolling the dice with these odds, she knew the chance all too well.

"You've been ringing at the wrong times." Letty offered, playing it off as best as she could. Her mother's sister was like a pit bull on a pant leg. Despite having two girls of her own (sadly obsessed with boys and fashion and loathing anything cars- they didn't get along too well with Letty) she still saw Letty and her family as an extension of her own. She had driven from home the second she heard about Letty's dad passing, she had slept on the sofa in her daffy duck pyjamas, making all the necessary calls and arrangements whilst encouraging her sister to do such basic tasks as just showering and eating. It was a task and a half, she even sewed the holes in Letty's school outfit and ensured she had enough food for lunch and tea. She baked, she cleaned, she did a thousand things at once whilst looking for another task to do. She was a saint, but a worrier.

 _"Yeah, what shift is she working this week? I'll call as soon as she finishes."_ Aunt Carol called her bluff. Letty had experience of this though.

"Not sure, I've spent most days at school and nights with Mia. Ma said it was okay."

 _"When's the last time you saw her?"_

"This morning." Letty answered automatically. "She made me breakfast." Well, she left the bread out of the bin accidentally, which Letty used for toast.

 _"And when did she last cook? Wash?"_

"Washing was on the airer this morning." Left from the night before because Letty had been too tired to take it off. "We had chicken, veg and chips on Monday." Letty continued, which was true, it was a microwave meal and her mother ate three bites before flying off out the door, which Letty then finished.

 _"Really? I rang Monday night. There was no answer."_

"Early tea-time, we went out food shopping." Blatant lie, Letty had no idea what happened.

Cradling the phone securely, letty directed her character to drag a player from their car and steal the pick-up truck; they weren't always good for speed, but they didn't break as easily when you rammed them into things. Today felt like a ramming day.

 _"Leticia, I am going to keep ringing this phone until your mother answers it, th-"_

"I can ask her to phone you when she gets back, but it won't be until early am probably, and she'll be tired, probably just go straight to bed. Then there's food shopping, book club… it might not been until the weekend really. But I can ask her to phone." Letty prattled out excuse after excuse, a well practised effort.

 _"Your mother buries her head in the sand and forgets all the little important things Letty. We both know how she can get."_

"It's not like last time. I promise." Letty swore, lies all over her tongue as she rammed the truck into the police car that was badly pursuing her, it was deserved; she had run over the street hooker- on accident at the time.

 _"Uh-huh."_ But the syllables sounded disbelieving. _"You tell her to phone me the second she gets in."_

"Absolutely." Letty agreed, already trying to think of a new excuse for when her mother didn't call.

 _"Letty,"_ her tone commanded attention, as much as it could get as Letty dodged the sight of the police helicopter (they didn't like it when you ran over their officers). _"You will call me if things get worse."_

"I promise Aunt Carol." If things got any worse, Letty would be in a sorry state indeed.

 _"Good. Now, go back to whatever violence I am hearing down this line. I love you darling."_

"You too." Letty ended the call and let it fall to the sofa, forgotten.

It was a shit show of a day.

Letty sighed, letting the controls relax in her hand, what was the point? The police swarmed the car and she was busted within seconds. It just didn't feel the same.

Letty rubbed across her stomach, the cramps kicking her ass once again.

She needed something better than a pity party of car violence.

She could try and unlock the next mission.

* * *

20 minutes later there was a knock on the door that wasn't from the pizza she was considering ordering.

There was no psychic pizza order, but there was Dom.

"Wha-"

"You aren't sick." he commented knowingly, throwing a packet of jellybeans at her chest and cutting off her default annoyed reply that was bubbling. Letty caught them reactively and then grabbed the chocolate buttons out of the air as they followed with his next throw.

He let himself into the house and onto her sofa.

"You shou-" Amid kicking him out, he cut her off again.

"Your mum out?" he stretched himself onto her sofa, his hands already on the second controller.

"Working." Letty grumbled out. "Didn't you get my text?" she huffed, no idea what was happening.

"Yeah." He nodded his head over. "You wanna race instead of failing your mission?" he waved the need for speed game case at her temptingly.

"I can't do anything with you." Letty was going to have to tell him, humiliate herself and watch as he walks out again. He shouldn't have come.

"You can play video games." Seeing she wasn't moving herself, he extricated himself from the sofa before making his way over, controller still in hand as he wrapped himself around her, her small frame swallowed by his, her grumpiness and tiredness suffocated and quickly dying. "You're still more than capable at losing to me."

"I don't mean that." Her voice was muffled against his chest, her arms pinned in her angry cross by his hug. "I can't do the other stuff with you."

"Yeah, I know; you and Mia ate everything containing chocolate in the house. And you absolutely owe me my oreos back."

"If you know, why are you here?" Letty's muffled voice this time broke his comfort, he pulled back from her, his face concerned with a serious expression.

"It's not all about sex, Letty." The words tumbled through her chemically victimised mind and the well worn fantasy of having Dom for eternity flashed bright and alive in her mind. Was he saying he wanted more? Was he saying this was more? Was this it? "And you shouldn't ever be with a man who thinks it is." he continued, before dragging her to stumble over her own feet and to the sofa.

The fantasy died back down to curl into the recesses of her mind, dragging down the cheerleaders from their posts and the bunting of happily ever after; it knew better than to think he meant himself. It was all still part of his 'education' of her. What she asked him for. But as he settled back down on the sofa, looping his arm around her in a hug as he held the controller in two hands, she felt this was still a bit above and beyond.

Not that she complained as she laid against him, encased by his arms and legs, cuddled on the sofa, playing video games like they were the perfect couple.

* * *

Letty must have fallen asleep during the movie, probably when Dom was massaging circles into the tight muscles of her back as she laid strewn out across him because she woke to a gruff voice, familiar but far angrier than she had heard before. She pressed herself up and swung her legs over. Dom?

"She's your _child_." he argued without shouting. It was coming from the hallway.

"I know… I know… but she's so mature, and she likes being alone… besides, I have work. Work needs me." Letty stumbled up sleepily tripping over her own feet to get to her mother.

"Your daughter needs you!" Dom cut her mother off sharply.

Letty had never seen her mother looking so defensive, so ashamed, so broken. Dom was telling her mother off. Letty charged between them, hands straight onto Dom, a hard shove forcing him to take a step back. How dare he?!

"Leave." she pushed him again, closer to the door. "This has nothing to do with you!" she snapped, a fire in her eyes.

"Nothing to do with me?!" he shot back, fire had struck gasoline. "Does she even know how you've been doing at school? Does she even know what you do at the garage? Does she even know how the car outside magically appeared?!" Letty let the sinking feeling of her secrets breaking in front of her mother. Dom turned now to her mother. "Do you even know your daughter?" Her mother didn't answer, just looked down ashamed. Letty gave him another shove, the few centimetres he covered in regaining his footing were little but progressive. "Because I do, and she's worth spending time with, every damn second."

"Leave." Letty shouted, her hands thumping against his chest repeatedly shoving him until he got the message.

"You of all people should know that." he spoke to her mother before he turned and left.

The door shut behind him and Letty ran to set the lock lest he change his mind and return. But as she turned back to her mother, she saw the damage he had done was not to herself.

"Mom." Letty was down by her mother's side in the next second, clutching her hands. "Don't cry mom, no. He doesn't know what he's talking about. Work needs you, I understand that and that's all that matters. If you didn't work, we wouldn't have food on the table, or clothes, or the bills paid."

"I can't… I can't…" but her mother was shellshocked on the floor, keys in one hand, coat in the other. Obviously Dom had cornered her the second she had walked in.

"He's wrong. I know who we are and I love you." Letty wrapped her mother in a hug that wasn't returned. She just sat there on the floor, unmoving. "You do everything for me mom." Letty found herself tasting the lie as she spoke it. "Dom doesn't know what he's talking about, I swear." Letty felt the fragility of her mother's mental state, she felt the cold grip on her heart that perhaps this could be too far to push her. But she couldn't go back to how it was. Not again. No teenager should have to be mother to their own mother in the way hers had needed. "I'm happy mom. I don't want anything to change. You work hard to give me what I have and nobody else can understand that. I don't want anything to change."

"Let-"

"You've been working all day. You probably want a shower and bed." Letty had done this before, only before, she had had to shower her mother, dry and dress her mother as she sobbed into herself. Her mother just needed picking back up, she just needed a push and she'd be back to what Letty knew. "I'll cook while you shower, you can eat and then get some sleep."

"I'm sorry." Her mother spoke, finally moving to tug Letty back into a fierce hug. "I'll try better, I will. I know I'm slipping again."

"Dom's an asshole, there's nothing wrong with you. Nothing wrong with us." As much as she spoke the words with passion, the snake of a lie wove around her; Letty knew it wasn't a normal family relationship.

"Aunt Carol's been phoning hasn't she?" her mother asked, her voice stronger, her frame solid as she pulled back from the hug and stood to her feet.

"She called today when I got in from school. She wants you to call her back." Letty admitted.

"Maybe she's right, maybe I should see someone." her mother admitted, her eyes said something different though, something her mother had made her mind up on. Did she want to go to therapy?

Letty instincts were to scream no, that she didn't need to see a shrink, but… did she want to?

"If you want to, but you don't need it. We're fine."

"Letty." Her mother's voice was in medic mode, the one she used when she knew what she was speaking about. "We both know I do."

"Then one or two sessions." Letty bartered, a feeling of dread crossing her. Her mother wasn't looking at her as damaged or broken, she was looking at her with a medical eye, one that she had finally turned on herself.

"Aunt Carol wants me to commit to getting better, and she's right. But… she wants you to come and live with her and your cousins for a bit while I get back on my feet." Letty felt weight drop on her.

"What did you tell her?" But Letty had a feeling she knew the answer. Her mother was finally fed up of Letty being around, she wanted rid of her.

"Maybe it's a good idea."

Letty felt the pain split down her heart, cracking her calm, breaking her support.

"What, so now you don't even want me in the house with your anymore?" she snapped, temper flying away from her. "It's not good enough you spend every hour of every day away from me? Now you can't even stand to come home to me." Letty grabbed her bag from the hook, purposefully letting it carelessly swing at the vase and knocking it clear across the hall. Somehow, it didn't break.

"Letty!" But her mind was going too far too fast, the day had kicked her ass but wasn't done yet.

"Why don't you just say it?!" Letty growled. "I'm just another painful reminder of Dad that you can't stand to be around!" she felt the recoil on her mother's face as if she had slashed her open with her bare hands. "Don't worry, I'm gone." Letty picked up shoes with one hand, the other unlocking the door and bolting out of it.

Dom was in the car at the end of the drive, blocking her exit. He obviously stayed to hear the backlash of his idiocy. He opened the door, probably wanting to talk to her, he obviously missed the warning clear on her face and started to approach her, concern falsely labelled on his features.

Letty gave him a very clear 'fuck off and die' as she pulled on her trainers on the lawn.

"Letty!" her mother called from the doorway. With one look back, Letty was gone, pounding pavement as she broke away from the family home.


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter Twenty Five; Being Good.**

When Letty had lost the Supra attempting to tail her through back alleys and narrow passageways, she realised the problem. She had nowhere to go.

She always figured she'd move in with Mia when her mother stopped coming home. But now, that plan had a flaw, a huge brotherly flaw. She didn't even have the money to shack up in the local hotel for the rest of eternity as she would have liked to.

She always knew her Aunt had wanted her to come and live with her, but there were two reasons she never entertained the possibility and put up with everything her mother did (or didn't do). It would mean no Mia, and no Dom.

The latter had lost its appear somewhat, but the former was still very much there, even if she did spent a lot of her time with Alex now.

If she'd had the sense to grab her mobile, she would be inclined to take this rant to Mia. Mia always understood. Of course, there was little point in telling her about her half relationship with her brother now; it was in tattered remains. And… she couldn't tell Mia about her mother…

So no, Letty guessed she couldn't rant to Mia.

She could probably mope and eat chocolate with her and blame it all on mother nature though. Plus, Mia would let her hide out in her bedroom until her mother went off for her night shift tonight.

Although they were out of chocolate.

Letty looped around and back to the shops, only occasionally throwing glances to the road, aware of a Supra that might appear and start a domestic in the middle of town end's row of shops.

With a mental list in her head, Letty made her way along the streets back the way she'd avoided.

"Leticia?" Letty froze at the idea of her mother appearing in the street to yell at her again. "Ah I thought it was you." The voice called again when she stopped in her tracks. Letty turned to find a tall dark skinned woman dusting dirt from her hands from the flowerpots she had just set outside her shop. "Is your mother alright? I haven't seen her in a while." Letty couldn't recall the ladies name to save her life, but she remembered her face, she owned the charity shop Letty was walking past. She took in all sorts of things, often donations from her mother; things that used to be her fathers, things that reminded her of him, things she bought on a whim then realised he would probably not have liked.

"She's well, she's on night shifts though." Letty lied as was second nature.

"Oh, well, I have something for her." The woman walked back into the shop and Letty once again ended up in her mother's jobs, following numbly back into the shop. "A while back, she said the hospital was asking for any books to be donated to the patient's library. Are they still doing that?" Letty followed her into the back room of the shop.

"As far as I know." Letty didn't have a clue to be honest, her mother often took her own finished books into work though, she liked for the patients to have something to take them away from their reality. The reality of the library was sad indeed though, it was nothing more than a glorified trolley of donated, dog-eared books lodged haphazardly and pushed by an old doddering man who was probably best off remaining within hospital grounds considering the whining cough he was hampered by. But she didn't know if they had a drive for books right now.

"I've been hoping I'd see your mother pass through. But I figured we kept missing each other." She pulled a sturdy carrier from behind a large doll and turned back to face Letty with it. "I've kept some books aside for her, would you mind?"

Yes, Letty wanted to say. It looked heavy, it would be doing her mother a favour she didn't deserve and quite frankly she didn't want to. But she wasn't about to unload her problems on the charity shopkeeper, she'd probably end up in the foster system within a week.

So Letty pulled out her grace and good daughter act and started lugging the new bag of books down the street. She managed the start of the chocolate aisle at the newsagents before the weight bore down too hard on her already thin patience. She grabbed a handful of whatever looked most tempting within her eyesight, paid and started a back breaking journey home.

Letty's mind spent the walk home thinking of all the other things she could have said to the shop keeper so that she could have gotten away with carrying the heavy books home, but of course, Letty didn't think of them at the time and was left seething to herself, muttering about her lack of intelligence between passers by.

Letty's plan of a detour to Mia's chocolate therapy was derailed at the sight of Dom's car parked in a rush job outside, so she returned, fully expecting her mother to be at work. When she shut the front door with her foot and finally set the bag of books down to relieve her aching arms she straightened up to find her mother in the archway, red eyes and puffy cheeks.

"Thought you'd be at work." Letty felt her bad mood slam back into her as soon as she saw her, the guilt of making her mother feel so bad hit hard on her.

"I spoke with your Aunt Carol." she sniffled.

"Great." Sarcastic and dark, Letty threw a hand on her hip and grabbed her bag again. "When are you kicking me out?"

"I wish you wouldn't say things like that Letty. I'm not kicking you out I-"

"Fine, when are you _re-homing_ me?" she rephrased. "Do I get a chance to pack my stuff up and say bye to my friends, or should I just turn around?"

"Letty." Her mother sounded as tired and irritated as Letty felt. Good. "You're not going anywhere, okay." Letty didn't say anything. Her mother sighed and softened her tone, "Can we sit down?" Unable to find a reason as to why not, Letty led the way through to the living room to find the airer filled with newly washed clothes and noting a smell of melted cheese from the kitchen. It didn't stop her from giving the couch a wide berth and a death stare; it was where her shit show of a day got a whole lot worse. "I spoke with your Aunt Carol." Her mother repeated once more. "I'm going to be going to weekly therapy sessions. I've already booked them with the hospital's therapist." Letty didn't say a word. "Aunt Carol is going to ring daily before I leave for work and when I finish. I've spoken to my line manager and I've said I won't be taking any overtime for the next few months."

"Great." Letty stood, not at all believing it would last.

"We're not done." Letty's mother spoke quietly, but with strength. "Sit." Letty dropped back into the chair. "Where did you get the car from?"

"I won it."

"Did you steal it?" her mother asked.

"I. won. It." Letty repeated slowly.

"Letty you don't just win a car, that's not how this happens. They are expensive, you need tax, insurance, repair and upkeep, we don't have the money to afford a car, certainly not one like that."

"It's mine. I won it fair and square."

"If you won a car like that, then whatever you did for it wasn't fair or square. You need to give it back."

"It's mine!" Letty complained.

"You're giving it back and that's the last I'm hearing of it. If it's still on our drive I'll have it towed."

"You can't get rid of it, I have the paperwork for it, I own it."

"Not in this house you don't." Her mother rose to meet her, temper lined to temper. "What was Dominic Toretto doing in this house anyway?"

Letty had had enough, there were bad days and then there was today, which created a whole new level of bad. Her mother finally paid attention to nothing but her flaws and problems, Dom ruined their fragile relationship, mother nature kicked her in the womb every 5 minutes and add to that the fuck ton of books she broke her back to bring back to an ungrateful mother.

"I was fucking him in exchange for gas money." Letty maliciously spoke, rising to her feet. "I liked you better when you didn't give a fuck what I did." Letty snatched her mobile from where it was on the coffee table and stormed up the stairs to her small bedroom, slamming the door and shoving the door wedge under it from her side.

* * *

Thursday and Friday weren't any better, Letty had argument 2 to 23 with her mother during the times she was at home with her new schedule which had culminated with her mother taking the keys to her car and driving it from their house to the Toretto's before handing it back to a probably very surprised Mr Toretto.

Letty had skipped out on their usually Friday ride from school, and gone straight into argument 24 at home. Mia seemed to understand it was a family problem, even Dom hadn't come over or text her to which she found herself disappointed by. So as her mother left with the snapped judgement of 'you're grounded'; which neither of them must have believed would happen due to the sole enforcer leaving the house, Letty was surprised to find she didn't really care to go anywhere. She could go to the races, but she didn't know what she'd say to Dom. She could go to Mia's but Mia might be arranging plans with Alex and she didn't want to be the third wheel there. She could go out for the sake of going out, or she could stay in.

Letty had still to tell her mother about the donated books and decided to take advantage, spending the night on the sofa with escapism via a romantic fiction that would possibly bore her to sleep.

It wasn't too tedious, there was some plot line to go with the romantic theme of the cowboy that wanted a housewife to care for his 3 year old son. Naturally, his mother had died in childbirth and he had taken the child from town to town hunting down the perfect woman, until said perfect woman had kicked him out of her saloon with her shotgun pointed at his balls mistaking him for a child kidnapper that was troubling the area. Your usual romantic plot, but it wiggled its way into Letty's mind, it bothered her dreams as she crawling into bed that night, alone, empty and cold. It gave her a world she didn't know, problems she didn't have, but something she found she wanted.

 _Letty spun in the mirror, a floral dress adorning her, white stockings up her legs, hair pinned tightly in a professional curl, she was the ideal wife to return to. She had even picked up their son's toy cars from the carpet so he wouldn't slip on them when he came back from work. Their son was asleep, dreaming dreams of America muscle cars probably._

 _But as much as she looked the part, the reality was different. Letty returned to the kitchen, kitten heels clicking with each step. The closer she got to the kitchen, the more the dark anxiety seemed to eat at her._

 _She wasn't perfect._

 _Her first creation for their anniversary dinner was in the trash, her second attempt was likely headed the same way, proving she couldn't cook anything that didn't come with bullet pointed instructions on the packaging. Preferably just giving a time and oven temperature and nothing more._

 _She bit her lip looking down at the can of tomatoes on the side, hoping she could make it exotic enough to cover the lamb cutlets if she mixed in a few spices from the cabinet she never touched. Her attempt at the recipe marinade had ended with a funky smell taking over the kitchen, so when she'd reached to open the window she had knocked the side salad onto the burner and thus had only barely prevented a fire breaking out._

 _But she was meant to be the perfect housewife._

 _Letty tried to undo her hair, tried to unzip the dress that really wasn't her, but they wouldn't budge. She stumbled over her heels once more, but the buckles must be superglued closed on her feet, she couldn't release their trappings._

 _A buzzer went off, one that she knew meant he was coming home soon. Home to a lovely housewife and dinner she had prepared. Home to nothing like he wanted. Letty dashed to the cupboard, past the cutlets frying away and pulled out the plates and candles, tottering back to the dining room to set up. This was a nightmare._

 _How was she meant to know how to do this?_

 _She caught herself in the hallway mirror again, there was marinade up her arms, lettuce leaves in her apron, pepper seeds in her hair… panic written plain as day all over her face._

 _She needed to pull it together, she needed to be perfect._

 _Checking once more on the cutlets and her only saving grace to this disaster she dove her hands into the sink overflowing with pots._

 _Washing became futile with salad leaves swimming mindlessly and clinging to any crockery it found._

 _Fingers dove between knives and forks to drag portions of tomato and cucumber from the drain, leaving shreds of onion between the burnt pans she hoped would come clean. With another glance at the clock she swore something very unlady like and dumped the load of burnt salad into the bin, another layer added to the growing pile._

 _But the lamb, it was still good, it was safe, it was tender and non-burnt; which was all she could ask for. She just needed to sort out her appearance, the rest could be fixed over._

 _Of course, when her dear husband pulled up 10 minutes later, it was a different story entirely._

" _Letty!" the alarm in his voice was expected, after all, it smelled like a barbeque of old boxers in the house. "Letty!" there was even a light smoke curling along the ceiling in the kitchen._

 _"It's alright, there's no fire." Dejected, she answered his worry from where she sat on the kitchen floor._

" _What happened?" and he stepped in. Dominic Toretto in his finest shirt and tie, returning from a day of hard work looking like a god. And she was sunk to the floor, teatowel with a scorch mark on in her hands, hair fallen from its pin, kinks in every direction, the peach tea dress covered in a red stain that had splattered up her arms and chest. "And what are you wearing?"_

" _Tomatoes." Thankfully it wasn't blood this time._

" _No, I mean the dress." He threw her a smirk, one that said he expected this._

" _I tried, okay." she whispered. "I really tried. But I don't cook."_

" _Yeah, I know." He picked his way between the chairs and contents of a horizontal bin to the hob. "What was it meant to be?"_

" _Which attempt?" she asked, earned a raised eyebrow. Either way it wasn't salvageable._

" _The bin?" he asked._

" _My foot got caught." She extended out a leg from under the skirt of the dress. He turned to see the inch heels, one wrapping tightly around a red swelling ankle._

" _Jesus Letty." She felt like a disappointment, all he must want is a good wife, instead he got a failure that couldn't walk in anything that wasn't platformed._

 _She watched as he pulled the frozen peas from the freezer, cracked it in his hands and them wrapped them in her burnt teatowel from her lap._

 _He joined her on the kitchen floor, cradling her ankle gently in his hands, the makeshift ice-pack lightly pressed to the swelling as he slid free the shoe buckle and released her aching foot._

" _I'm sorry Dom."_

" _What were you even trying to do? You know better than to try and cook." he chuckled, trying at least to improve her mood._

" _I'll do better next time." she swore, she could be what he wanted, she could._

" _Next time you might end up breaking something more precious than a plate or two." His thumb rolled slowly over her skin where he held her ankle. His eyes though, they pierced straight down into her soul. "How about you just let me cook from now on?"_

" _I want to be a good wife." she protested. "Someone who can cook and clean, and look proper in a dress and stupid heels."_

" _Why would I want that?" he smirked. "I've got a wife who is going to teach our son the difference between America muscle and Japanese steel." A smile tugged at her lips. "I've got a wife who can beat cops in a traffic race, anytime, anywhere."_

" _It's not exactly a skill." Letty muttered under her breath._

" _I've got a wife that's next to me every night whether I'm dressed in a suit or engine oil."_

" _Mostly the latter." she added quietly._

" _Or handcuffs." he expanded with a wink, his eyes to the ceiling as if he could see straight through to their bedroom dresser where red fluffy handcuffs sat after use last night._

 _She laughed, batting him on the arm with the oven glove by her side. "I've got you Letty. As disastrous in the kitchen as you are, I wouldn't trade you for a thing."_

 _Letty shuffled herself across the distance, crawling into his open arms and wrapping around him. How did she get so lucky?_

" _One question though." he spoke over her shoulder. "Why is there salad here?" She laughed against him, her chest bouncing against him as it rumbled through her body._

" _I figured a good housewife would insist upon feeding you salad."_

" _Bad housewife." Teasingly, he brought his hand down onto her ass in a sharp slap. "I want the good housewife I had last Friday."_

" _Last Friday we sat watching Thomas the Tank Engine's movie while eating Chinese in our pyjamas." He had commented the entire way through about how it was improbable that the engines wouldn't need regular maintenance with the jobs they were given and yet you never saw a mechanic._

" _And there were no strange smells, no burn marks, no twisted ankles, no sad faces." He pressed a kiss to her neck. "and no salad."_

" _We fought over spring rolls, I'd rushed my shower and my hair was dripping onto you. We didn't even make it through the whole movie and you ended up carrying me to bed." she reminded him._

" _First, you had way more than your share of prawn crackers, that roll was mine." It wasn't a one off argument when Chinese was delivered. "And you looked adorable in your jammies, even with wet hair, and you were tired. It had been a long day."_

" _I remember how that day ended…" she'd woken up as he pulled the cover up around her to get his own shower._

" _Yeah, you assaulted me." he chuckled. He'd stepped out of the shower expecting to find her asleep in bed, instead she was in the raunchiest underwear he'd ever seen and had grabbed him by his towel, yanking him to the bed._

" _I didn't hear a complaint." She ran her hand over his head, down to the tight muscles of his neck. "A good housewife would apologise for the assault though." She ran her fingers under the collar of his shirt, rubbing concentric circled into the overworked muscles there, a groan immediately slipping from his lips. "Perhaps a massage and early bedtime?"_

" _Your foot?" he asked, gentle skimming over the ice-pack resting on her ankle still._

" _Don't need it for what I have in mind." She pressed her lips to his earlobe, sucking it between them and nibbling a little; just how he liked it._

" _I have the best housewife ever." he announced, shifting her into his arms and making way to the bedroom, the kitchen left as a warzone, a bag of frozen peas abandoned where it fell of the stairs, perfect for defrosting and leaving a wet patch in the morning._


	26. Chapter 26

Happy 'it's almost friday!'. I know some of you were hoping for a bit more Dotty last chapter. Hopefully, this will give you some feelings to make up for it.

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty Six; Knowledge**

Saturday morning, Letty was still very much aware of her dream, of how much she wanted it, of how strange it was. It seemed to burn itself into her brain. So when Dom pulled up in his Supra outside her house, she had to reminder herself she was mad at him, that he hadn't swept her off her feet, praising her for being everything he wanted.

Thankfully, she didn't need to try too hard because Mia was right there, obviously deep in some argument with her brother.

Letty slid into the back seat like nothing was wrong, muttering a greeting to the brother and sister that were re-hashing an old argument. Letty had heard it before: their father had asked them if cars needed to indicate if there were no other cars around. Dom was hard against it, saying the indicator was for other peoples notification of intent and thereby not needed when alone. Mia had a more progressive argument, that it didn't mean other cars weren't around just because that driver couldn't see any, that it was good habit, that not doing it once could lead to not doing it when it is necessary and could lead to a major accident. It was re-hashed about every three months when Mia saw someone turn without indicating.

Letty thought it was a pointless argument entirely and refused to engage.

"I'm not going over this again, why can't your stupid head accept this?!" Mia hissed. Letty smiled, secretly pleased Mia was annoyed at her brother the same time Letty was. Even in secret they were synced.

"My stupid head? You really want to keep faking your adoration for laws?" Dom fired back. Letty turned to catch his gaze in the rear view mirror. She ducked her eyes back down. Her mind was supplying her with the alternative reality of her dream, the one where she was as attached to Dom as the law would allow, she had a child with him, and he was head over heels for her, still. That Dom had held her close, sacrificing his action-packed movies for a childhood train that went on stupid adventures. That Dom that curled around her in bed, telling her all the things he loved about her.

Her mind saw _that_ Dom, not the Dom that shouted at her mother, the Dom that didn't love her.

"This is exactly like the falling tree thing, of course it's going to make a sound!" Mia continued.

"But no-one hears it fall Mia, who hears the sound?!" he smirked as he drove on. "So there isn't a sound."

"Sound just doesn't stop existing just because _**you**_ don't hear it, how egotistical can you be?!" she scoffed. "We are totally not doing this today. I can't deal with your stupidity." Mia physically turned in her seat, excluding her brother. "How was your night? I didn't know if you'd come or not."

"Good. I, uhhhh, I read a book." Letty flailed for brain power. "How were the races?"

"My asshat of a brother." A scowl was thrown his way over her shoulder. "Won again. Hectors putting out a grand prize for any idiot that actually beats him. It's apparently bringing in an outside crowd."

"It's bringing in dangerous people." Dom butted it.

Letty found herself drawn back to him, their imaginary life blurring lines again as she caught the scent of his cologne, the same cologne that had invaded her dream as he held her close.

"Just because you don't know them, doesn't make them dangerous." Mia batted back.

"It makes them dangerous when I kick their ass and win their cars. People don't like to hitch hike across the state to get home."

"So don't race for slips?" Mia suggested, logical as ever.

"Then why am I racing?" Dom grinned wide. He loved the glory of taking other people's cars, of putting it all on the line for one race. But he was right, there had been previous fights because guys had regretted losing their cars. Guys travelling from out of state thinking they would win Toretto's car and title would be sourly disappointed when Dom left them in his smoke, as he did with all his challengers.

"Yet again, let me say for the whole world; you are an idiot. A stupid bald idiot." Mia hissed.

"It's shaved." Dom correctly pointlessly; Mia didn't care.

"Yeah, shaved because you're going bald." The comment hit below the belt, but Mia was all too quick to cut her brother out of her mind once more, not seeing the way Dom put his tongue over his teeth, smothering the need to strangle his sibling. "Vince had a hissy fit last night, something about his car, who knows."

"His steering locked." Dom supplied with a roll of his eyes.

"And he proper started shouting and screaming like a little girl."

"Because he shredded his tyres." Dom expanded once more. Not that Mia was listening at all.

"So then this racer chaser comes up to his and asks him if its his time of the month and offers him a tampon, oh my god, I swear I almost pissed myself laughing."

"Classy, as always, sister." Dom muttered.

"As you can imagine, he didn't hook up last night, so he'd got the grump on, what did you call it?" this time, she did turn back to the brother she was ignoring. "Oh yeah," she recalling it on her own though. "Blue balls." Mia's laughter filled the car.

"Please." Letty joined in. "Vince should be used to that by now."

"Oh my god, that was exactly what I said!" Mia grabbed her pseudo sisters hand in solidarity. "I can't believe you missed it for a book. What was it about?"

"…some cowboy or something. I didn't finish it."

"Oh, is it one of those romantic stories where he chases after the girl. I love those!" Mia gushed. Obviously intent on supplying full conversation for the car ride so her brother would remain rightfully silent. "Can I borrow it afterwards? My brother threw out all my romantic stories when he got infected by asshole disease." Dom scoffed but said nothing more.

"Sure. I'll bring it by after work. My mum's got a whole bag of books to donate to the hospital but I'll bring you the good ones first."

"See Dom, this is what sisters do for each others. This is why sisters are so much better than brothers." Mia turned back to her blood sibling with anger in her eyes. Obviously he'd pissed her off.

But Dom had his eyes on the rearview again. He had since the mention of Letty's mother in the sentence. Letty knew because she'd looked up at the same time. She found guilt she had half expected.

She wanted to go back to how things were, to be closer to her fantasy world again.

If he apologised, she supposed she could forgive him today.

Mia filled the car with inane chatter the entire duration and even until she left Letty to catch Sonja. Dom found his way to her side within the first few minutes, as she unlocked the wheel nuts on the Ford Fiesta that needed a whole set of new tyres.

"Letty." His voice was quiet; it was about them, not work. "I'm not going to apologise." Letty stopped what she was doing and turned to face him slowly. "I did what was right, and I'll do it again."

"Are you kidding me?" she huffed quietly. This was not how she saw this going down at all. He was meant to apologise, she was meant to forgive him and tell him to stay out of family matters. He was meant to beg her forgiveness and kiss the daylights out of her.

"It wasn't right Letty, and it's not a one-off. Something needed to change."

"And you feel like a big man now? Fixing everybody's problems but your own?" he rose an eyebrow, one of those stupid cocky eyebrows that haunted her. "Are you fucking serious?" she hissed under her breath, fists clenching with the want to knock his stupid eyebrow of his stupid face. "You can't go around messing up my life."

"I care about you Letty, enough that I won't stand by while I see the neglect."

"Neglect?" she stood, raised to him, a good punching distance away. "I'm not neglected." She wanted to shout and scream, but Leon and Jesse were across the garage rifling through the tool chests for a certain wrench, she wasn't bring them into this. It was already known to one person too many, and he was stood before her like he did nothing wrong.

"Letty, it's because I ca-"

"Don't say you care, because if you cared you wouldn't get me chucked out of my own house to live states away."

"What are you talking about?" Aware of Leon and Jesse's rattling ceasing, he took her arm, leading her out of sight of them behind the car. "Are you leaving?"

"I don't even know." She ran a hand through her hair. "If I am, it's all your fault though."

He caught her arm as she made to shoulder barge past him again.

"I didn't intend for thi-"

"What did you expect would happen?!" she sneered. "This is why you mind your own business and don't get involved in other people's, because it fucks with their entire life."

"Letty."

"Don't." she snapped. "You owe me a hell of an apology and if the next words out of your mouth aren't an epic plea for forgiveness, don't say anything."

"Letty." he called her back as she made to walk away again, but as she turned he wasn't on his knees promising her the world. He threw something and she caught it on reflex alone. It was her car keys, the car he'd gotten taken away from her.

"It's yours. It's outside our house and can be for as long as you need. But, it belongs to you." It wasn't an apology, it wasn't an appeal for forgiveness, but as he walked away back to the office, Letty found a relief settle over her chest. She had her car back.

* * *

Letty raced over the streets and roads to the Toretto household with books cradled to her chest like they were precious jewels. Her mother had just left to visit Letty's gran and Letty had about an hour, maybe two before she came back and expected Letty to still observe the grounding she was issued.

She let herself into the familiar abode and raced up the stairs, calling out for Mia as she did.

"Bedroom." Came her answer.

Dom was atop the stairs though, half dressed with a shirt in his hands that he had obviously elected not to wear and blocking her path.

"In a rush?" he asked, suspicious and curious as Letty's cheeks blushed pink and she curled the books further into her body.

"No. Just visiting." She dodged herself to one side to get around him. He wove an arm around her waist though. Right outside his sister's doorway, arms around his little sister's best friend. A door away from being found out.

"What's this for?" he tapped a finger to her cheek, the blush rising further.

"Nothing." She stepped back before remembering she was mad at him. "None of your business." She ducked under his arm and let herself into Mia's bedroom, purposefully making sure the door shut behind her.

"Hey, can you believe this?" Mia greeted Letty without turning from her mirror, examining the white in her hair; mayonnaise. "I mean I know they say egg is good for your hair." Did they? Letty pulled a face. "But I didn't mean like this. I just keep thinking, if I hadn't have shook the bottle so much, would this be a different ending?" she turned around the pout at Letty, but saw her best friend's ear to ear grin. "What's the grin for?"

"I was looking for books you can borrow and… I found something." She extended out the three books she had brought. The front one the cowboy drama she hadn't the desire to finish (for fear of more wacky dreams), the back one a princess and prince story Mia would go nuts over, but the one hidden between these two perfectly normal stories had a different tale to tell entirely.

"Found something? Like what?" Mia picked up the first cowboy story intending to read the blurb but the title of the second caught her eye and the girls both paused. Mia in surprise, Letty; anticipation.

"That." Letty needlessly stated.

"That's… that porn book."

"Erotica it's called."

"Oh my god." Mia's face lit up when she came to the same conclusion as Letty had. "Oh my god, Letty, this is a gold mine!" Mia flipped it open to a random page. "This is going to tell me exactly what it's like!" Mia's eyes started skim reading and a red blush crept over her face. "Oh my god, they don't shy on the details."

Thirty or so 'oh my god's later Mia passed the book back across the Letty.

"I absolutely need to wash my hair free of mayonnaise but I'll be back and we can see if it says anything about what its like for virgins; it says she's a virgin when she meets him." Letty sat herself on the bottom bunk and opened the first page as Mia grabbed her hair towel and left for an immediate conditioning emergency. Letty even heard the _'watch where you're going butthead!'_ as she most probably met her brother on the hallway. The bedroom door opened a second later, Letty didn't bother looking up to see Mia forget her shampoo or whatever other emergency item, but she should have.

"Really?" Dom's voice startled her and Letty reacted quickly to hide her secret, shoving it down the side of her legs. Not quick enough though. Dom's chuckle came seconds before the shower started in the background. "This is what you were hiding?" he crossed over a hand on either side of where she sat on the bedding, his body leaning in close.

"I'm still pissed at you." she spoke, a reminder to herself mostly.

"No you're not." Arrogantly, he lifted the book from her pathetic hideaway and turned to sit next to her.

"Give it back." But Letty's groped for the book only ended with her pulled across his chest as he stretched out, his arms holding it out of reach as he flicked pages.

"Oh, it gets steamy." he commented with a laugh. "Real steamy." He looked down with a smile at Letty laid out atop him. "Something you'd probably enjoy." he teased, transferring the book to one hand, the other snaring her to him once more. "I can almost hear the way you'd moan if I did this to you." he whispered darkly.

"You haven't apologised yet." she pointed out as she stopped fighting him for the book.

"I haven't." he agreed. "Perhaps I'm hoping to do it in a really special way." His hand slid over her clothes, down her back to rest on her ass. "Spell out every letter of my apology to you, with my tongue… here." His fingers slipped between her open legs where she straddled him and his fingers tapped against her sex. Letty flushed bright red, a hot heat taking over every inch of her body. "Do you think you'd forgive me then?"

Letty felt his fingers rub over her jeans, seeming to instantly know exactly where to touch. She dropped her head to his chest with a gasp shuddering free. "Then again, perhaps I should just confiscate the filth you're sharing with my baby sister and forget our deal… if you're that mad at me." He was playing her, she knew it as well as he did. "Or, I could leave you the book." He lowered the hand with the book in to wrap around her again, its pages tickling at Letty's bare arm. "And wait until you get horny enough to beg for me."

"You're an asshole." Letty panted out.

"You wanna re-try Wednesday this week?" he asked softly.

"Can't." she grumbled quietly.

"You'll be back in action by then." he promised.

"Some asshole pointed out how my mother isn't home a lot, she's going to be at home. And you're not allowed." Letty spoke passive aggressively, her fingers tracing along his bicep again.

"You finish early, can't you tell her you have class and come over?"

"Some asshole pointed out how my mother didn't care about my school grades, so she's got a copy of my timetable." Letty continued, narrow eyes glaring daggers at him.

"I'm sorry." His hand left her ass, instead running his fingers through the hair that had fallen to tickle his chest. "For the consequences." he continued.

"I could encourage Mia to go and see another movie on Friday night, perhaps she could sleep over at a friend's again?" Mia would be more than happy to go along with this, for a different reason entirely however. "And my mother knows I spend Friday night sleeping over with Mia, provided she lifts the grounding after this week."

Both sets of ears perked up as the taps squeaked off in the bathroom. Time to go.

"It would be nice to have you in my bed again." he commented, sitting up whilst still cradling her, he passed the book back across, but withdrew an inch when she reached for it. "Don't share too much with my sister, and… text me anything you read and want to do." With a wink he deposited her on the bed with the book and let himself out of his sister's bedroom.

* * *

"Letty!" Mia called from halfway across the school ground, arms waving as she ran full speed to her. It was Friday afternoon and Letty was trying not to bounce on her feet as she anticipated the night ahead. "Letty!" Mia came running full barrel at Letty, spinning them around as they met. "Birth control." Mia spoke in a breath before bending over and putting hands to her knees to drag in oxygen. "Birth control." she repeated like a victory.

"Murder from your father and brother." Letty offered in response, as it so often had been said when the topic came up.

"No." And Mia pulled the biggest grin Letty had ever seen.

"I can get birth control." Mia repeated, her eyes lifted to check the road in case Dom and his big sisterly-concerned ears had magically appeared. "Milly Johnson went to the Doctors because her periods were really bad and painful and she passed out once when she started or something." Mia rambled out. "And they gave her birth control because the doctor recommended the hormones to regulate her and her mother agreed to it. So I can totally do this and tell my dad, and my dad's not going to want any more information about this, and I'll totally be safe and not get pregnant, and this is the best thing I've heard today, and I heard about Kelly Harrison getting punched in the face by her sister!" Mia squealed excitedly. "And, and," because there was always more. "Sarah said that she went to the doctor herself because she was going to have sex either way and she wanted them to be safe. And she asked the doctor to not tell her parents and he said some mumbo jumbo about doctor/patient confidentiality but basically, as long as you aren't in danger, they can not tell your parents." Mia took another huge breath, eyes again checking for big brother arrival as she caught Letty's arm again. "They both said the hormones made their breasts bigger too. Sarah said she went up two cup sizes!"

"Really?" Letty asked, her own beestings begging for something more to actually fit comfortably into a bra size.

"Uh-huh. But then Lily said her big sister did that, and that as soon as she stopped taking them, they went back to normal size because the hormones are your own body's production again." Send Mia anywhere secure for a day and she would come back with enough information to sink the government. "But Lily said her mother found her older sister's pills when she was on them and took her to get the implant because she didn't want to be a grandmother yet and said that the pills were a lot to remember because you have to have them at the same time every day otherwise they don't work."

"Isn't the implant surgery?"

"I googled it!" Mia announced. Google must be asked some of the stupidest questions in the world, it seemed to be default whenever anybody needed to know anything these days, but Mia was an expert in her googling for teenage girl dramas. "It's a GP procedure and it's a tiny cut and all local anaesthetic."

"So you've still made your mind up about doing it?" Letty asked. Book knowledge under her belt, Mia had stated she was ready to go all the way with Alex. The girls had debated it at length, but it seemed Mia was fixed on her decision. Letty wasn't sure how much she liked it.

"Absolutely." Mia stated. "I'm ready, he's ready. And he loves me, I can't ask for more than that."

"You once told me you wanted to wait until your wedding day." Letty reminded her.

"And you once told me you weren't ever going to touch any other man that wasn't my brother. Things change, and I'm so glad they do. I mean, I'm nervous bu-" Mia cut off, seeing Dom's Supra. "Oh, quick, pretend we were talking about something." Mia nudged Letty.

"We were; being cut up for an implant." Letty smartly replied.

"Okay, something else that won't lead to my brother killing me?" Mia suggested with a smile.

"You mean how we were talking about Mrs Gerald's divorce." Letty offered politely, picking her bag off the ground as Dom pulled up.

"Oh my god, did you hear she's meant to have had an affair with a student?!" Mia exclaimed as she pulled open Dom's rear door and shuffled in.

"Who is?" Dom asked, dutifully nosey as he picked up the tail end of the sentence.

"Mrs Gerald." Mia supplied, scooting across, sibling relationship restored somehow.

"The chemistry teacher? I thought she retired to Canada?"

"No, no, that was… ummm-" Mia thought aloud.

"Mrs Bell." Letty answered, sitting her bag in the footwell. The memory flagged visibly on Dom's face.

"So who's Gerald?" he continued, pulling away from the myriad of school kids wandering around.

"French teacher, big hair, big glasses. Always carries a br-"

"Briefcase. Yeah, I remember hating her." Dom agreed with his sister. "Isn't she like 90?"

"Probably." Letty chimed in, pulling her seatbelt over herself. Mrs Gerald had picked on her during her last year of French because she sucked butt at conjugating verbs.

"Anyway." Mia resumed position as centre of attention. "She's getting a divorce, but, there's a rumour it's because her husband found her having an affair with one of her students." Mia smiled proud of her gossip. "They say he came to pick her up from school and when she wasn't there on time, he went looking for her and found her in the locker room with a student."

Dom tuned out at this point, seeing nothing more than teenage rumour spreading like wildfire, victim to the warped mangling of youthful minds filled with spite.

"Isn't her husband like 40 years younger than her anyway?" Letty remembered.

"Yep. There's apparently a toyboy thing, but it's insane, I mean how young do you go before a toyboy is just too young. He's probably like a fifth of her age." Mia was judgemental at best, but perhaps this current judgement came from the B that was graded on her last French paper when her long term academic rival Peter Rudgewidge got an A.

"Maybe she just doesn't like older men. It's her fourth husband isn't it?" The class were updated with a new photo on her desk everytime she got married again.

"Fifth," Mia corrected. "There was that one with the moustache that only last a week on her desk."

"Maybe she kills them off for money." Letty comically suggested, having watched one too many dramas courtesy of Mia.

"Oh my god, she's a black widow, did you kno-"

"Did you two even learn anything today?" Dom cut his sister's latest discovery network tv narrative off.

"Ummmm." Letty started, she doubted Dom count the ins and out of contraception as appropriate learning, so she passed a look to Mia before answering, "Not really." She shared a secret smile with her pseudo-sister.


	27. Chapter 27

I suppose I can wriggle out a lesson or two from this chapter. Pretend to offer some education. Let me invent a pondersome phrase for your consideration:

*clears throat*

'When one encounters a problem, one can run _at_ it, full speed. Or one can run _from_ it, full speed. Either way, one must be prepared to run.'

So, are you ready to run?

Ride or die, remember.

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty Seven: Tonight Things Change**

' _I'm ready, tonights the night.'_

Mia had sent her this half an hour ago and it was still buzzing around in Letty's brain. She was hoping Mia would shyly back out at the last moment, maybe just decide to fool around instead. And Letty knew it wasn't a race, she knew it wasn't about Letty being older and still a virgin, but it felt like it was. It felt like it wasn't fair.

It felt like there was jealousy grinding at her heels, pushing her to be at the same level as Mia, to not get left behind.

"What?" Dom asked, his hands wrapped around Letty's shoulders as they watched the movie progress. She was still without her apology, still had all her clothes on and still sat here like some sexless couple with _feelings_ rather than lust.

"Nothing." Letty muttered.

Mia was probably over on Alex's bed in the middle of a make-out marathon, she was probably losing it right now.

Tonight could be it for her and Dom too.

It had to be.

She doubted she could listen to Mia talk about it all day tomorrow without the memories of her own.

"What?" Dom asked again with a laugh as she wriggled on him again. She lifted up to face him, features serious.

"We should have sex."

"Really?" he smiled. "Should we?" he chuckled and wrapped her back tight in his arms, crashed back to his chest as she had been comfortable for the past half an hour. "Watch the damn movie, Letty."

"I'm serious." She twisted out of his arms again, sat up straddling him. "Right now. I want it."

"Why?" he asked, curious and suspicious.

"Because you owe me." Letty bartered, "And I'll forgive you."

"Letty…" But she had her hands on her hoodie, pulling it up and over her head before hiding her chest back against him, her lips sealing to his, her tongue demanding he kiss her back. Her hands were shaking and unsure but they knew Dom needed less clothes. She slid them under his top, bunching it up as far as his position would allow. "Letty." he breathed out a laugh at her eagerness. "I'll hold up my end of the deal, alright, settle down." He smiled, but her hands were on his jeans when his top couldn't move any further. "Letty." He held her wrists tightly. Something was off. "What's the rush?"

"Please." she asked. "Please." Her lips came back against his protest and he felt himself slipping from control, giving into pleasure. Letty smiled in success as Dom unhooked the bra with one hand, the beautiful red material slid from her arms and onto the bedroom floor. He hiked her up his body, mouth sealing around her nipples like he loved them so much. "Dom, please." she pleaded, tugging at his shirt. One second broken from her and his chest was naked, the clothing tossed from the bed. Letty's hands were all over him, her nails lightly scratching over his pecs, straight back to the jeans that kept him from her.

Dom lifted her once more, turning her to lay on the bed, planting kisses down to her bellybutton. He _had_ promised to tongue out his apology to her. With a flick of finger he was dragging the zipper of her shorts down, helping her overly eager wriggling out of them. Tiny black panties, beautiful against her olive skin. He hooked a fingers into the panties on her hips and she raised them so he could slide them off too.

Naked and ready, his baby laid out for him, her hands reached in want for his presence. This was how he liked it best, the look of want in her eyes, the naked buffet laid out before him.

She was his.

It echoed in every possessive corner of him.

"Dom, please." He crept back up her body, drugging her with a scorching hot kiss and once again her fingers were at his jeans.

"Later. I promised an apology." He grinned.

"Later." Letty complained, her hands finally pushing his buttons through. He caught her hands pinning them above her head.

"Behave."

"I don't care about that, I just want you to fuck me. You said you would." Letty complained, her hands fighting his a little too much for foreplay. He set them free and they went straight back to his jeans. He caught them again, taking them away from him. Something was wrong.

"Why?" he asked.

"You can do whatever you want afterwards, just let's have sex." But it didn't feel right. He hated himself for thinking this, and for not being okay with the thought; but he felt like he was being used.

"What happened, Letty?" he asked harshly.

"Nothing. This is what I want."

"Who was texting you?" she'd been fine with watching a movie until she'd picked up her phone half an hour ago.

"No-one." she snapped to him. "Please Dom. Just tonight, any other night you can have it your way."

"This isn't right." Dom didn't feel right at all. "Why now?"

"What does it matter? You don't give any other girl an interrogation before you fuck her, why do I get it?" Letty argued.

"Letty…" Dom's eyes turned to her phone, whoever it was had set this off.

"I'm practically begging you to fuck me and you won't give me the same courtesy you give any other women who bats a damn eyelid." Letty was getting the feeling this wasn't going to end the way she wanted it at all. The moment had been lost completely. So her anger had bloomed.

"Step carefully, Letty." He threw her hands away from him and stood, grabbing her mobile from the side table into his hands.

"Why? I've got a point. Why can't you just do what you'd do so easily to anybody else?"

"Because I care about you Letty, why can't you hear this when I say that?!" he grunted out, her mobile waving at her with each gesticulation. "I care."

"No, you're just Mia's big brother and you'll always see me a kid. I should have just got someone my own age like Mi-." Letty cut off the truth that slipped out, but the damage had been done. Guilt flooded the burning in her ears. She hadn't meant to say it, not even imply it, she truly hadn't but the memory of the text was breaking barriers in her mind, the thought of Mia being better than her was hurting so badly, she didn't filter the way she should have.

She felt the mistake tingle as it left her lips, she saw it form as Dom's temper soared, his jaw locking tight, the hand on her mobile tightening in a way that made her glad it wasn't still around her wrists.

"Where's Mia, Letty?" Letty had broken her best friend's sworn secret. She could almost see every lie, false trip and sleepover clicking into truth inside his head. "Letty." he repeated, slowly, painfully. "Where is my sister?"

"I…" But Letty had already betrayed her once. She couldn't again.

"Letty. I swear to god. I will never touch you ever again if you don't tell me where the everloving fuck my sister is." He looked menacing. Menacing like she'd never seen.

"She's at her boyfriends."

Dom unlocked Letty's phone with the code she didn't know he knew and very obviously saw the last text his baby sister had sent Letty.

"Dom, don't!" Letty cried out as she saw the phone go to his ear. He silenced her with a sharp look. The phone was already calling her soon to be ex-best friend. "Dom." Letty pleaded.

"Get dressed." Dom grunted out, throwing the hoodie at his feet back to the naked girl in his bedroom.

" _I know what you're thinking. But I promise. I am absolutely 100% ready. And he's so good to me, Let. I promise I will tell you every little thing about it."_

"Will you now?" Dom's voice sent chills through the girls; both in the room and down the phone line.

" _Dom?"_

"If you have any intention of ever seeing sunlight again you will get your ass back home. Right now."

" _Dom, it's not wh-"_

"Right now Mia. Or god help me, there won't be a boyfriend for you to run crying back to."

" _I-"_

"If you aren't here within 20 minutes, I am coming over there, and Mia… I will destroy him."

Dom ended the call, his threat firmly in place and prepared to be delivered upon.

Dom had ruined her friendship with Mia entirely.

Letty dragged the hoodie over her naked chest, bra lost from sight. She plucked the shorts from the floor, shuffling off to dress at speed, Dom seething to himself as he rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Where are you going?" he snapped as she stepped towards the door silently. The hate was still in his deep voice. Each syllable sent an icy rod through her heart. "You're just as damn guilty." he cursed. He threw her black panties from the floor to her. "Clean yourself up and come downstairs when you're decent."

* * *

Letty was sat nervously bouncing her legs and chewing her nails as Dom did whatever he was doing in Mia's bedroom. Most probably starting another barbeque on the drive. She just jumped every time she heard something slam or break.

"Dom!" Mia almost broke the door down in an attempt to get in in time. She must have taken the fastest taxi in the world to get back home. She was red faced and her jacket was on inside out. She spotted Letty sat on the sofa first. "Letty? What happened?" Mia's voice was soft, afraid, but loving towards her best friend.

Letty hid her eyes behind the hoodie sleeve and turned her face away.

"Mia, perhaps I should talk to him?" Letty froze and dropped her arm, oh hell no. Mia hadn't gotten a taxi driver with a loose understanding of speed limits. She'd gotten a boyfriend who had probably stolen his father's car. What the hell was she thinking bringing Alex here?

"No. God no. I told you to stay in the car." Mia panicked. "Please, stay in the car."

"This the bastard?" Dom's voice bounced around the house as he bolted down the stairs and Alex found himself pinned up against the wall by a strong arm against his throat.

"Dom no!" Mia snatched onto her brother's arm, all attempts to save the man she loved.

Letty couldn't move. It was like watching a car crash in slow motion, she couldn't look away but she knew it wasn't going to end well. Out of respect she _should_ look way, but she just couldn't. "Dom, stop!"

"Me and your boyfriend need a little chat." Dom stated, full anger back in his tone. Letty had thought he had calmed down; obviously not.

"Dom, don't you dare hurt him. I love him okay. You can't hurt him. Please." Mia begged, tears streaming from her eyes.

"Go upstairs Mia, I'll deal with you later."

"Don't hurt him, Dom." Mia cried, tears freely rolling.

"It's okay." Alex gritted out and Dom held his sister's eyes until she complied, heading up the stairs. Only when a door shut did Dom set the other man back on his feet, releasing the pressure on his windpipe.

"Sit." Alex sat so fast his lightheadedness must have had the room spinning. "When did this start?"

"Ummm," Letty could see Alex working through the muddled brain power to locate a time frame. "Ummm, I don't know."

"Not good enough." Dom gritted out, hands slamming to the table. Letty jumped where she sat.

"I don't remember. I only came on a transfer and she was nice to me from the start and we just kinda sorta got feelings. I mean she's the best gir-"

"It's my baby sister so pick your words carefully." Dom snapped.

"She's beautiful and sweet and caring, and I'm just lucky enough that she liked me too." Alex rambled out, panic clear in his eyes.

"You're not as lucky as you think." Dom promised darkly. "Because you are never, ever, ever going to see my sister ever again. You're not going to think about her, you're not going to talk to her, and you are definitely not going to touch her ever again."

"I… I lov-"

"No. You don't. Your dick loves her. And it's got two choices. Stop, or get it cut off."

Letty watched Alex visibly swallow the fuckton of fear Dom just instilled in him.

Letty jumped as another door slammed upstairs. Mia was moving.

"I know she's your sister, bu-"

"You're fucking my brother?!" the cry came from atop the stairs and the boys turned to the tearfilled eyes of the one they cared most about. "You ratted me out to him?!" Mia was down the stairs in a flash, throwing a red bra she had helped Letty pick out at her now ex-best friends face. "I can't believe this." Mia screamed. "You're going to rat me out of wanting to go all the way with Alex and you're creeping around screwing your brains out with my brother!" Mia picked up the closest object to launch at Letty.

Thankfully the cushion only hit Letty's arm as she stood to dodge it. "My brother?!" Mia screamed, picking the tv remote from the side table and launching it again as Letty barely blocked it. "My stupid, cheating, son of a bitch brother." Dom and Alex must have had some silent nod of agreement because their disagreement was put on pause, Alex rushing to pick the metal model car ornament from Mia's grasp before it could do serious damage to Letty. Dom had grabbed his sister by her waist, lifting her from the floor entirely. "I hate you, Letty! I hate you!"

* * *

Saturday and Sunday, Letty pulled an obviously fake sicky, sending a text to Leon and Jesse to say she had eaten bad sushi. Monday to Friday, Mia acted like Letty didn't exist, not that Letty made any effort to change it; Letty figured she deserved it.

The following Saturday, Letty braved work, making her own way there. Dom was obviously still pissed at her; he hadn't said a word to her either.

It was when she came home Saturday night, it had been a week and a day of isolation, anger with no outlet and despair. With eyes brimming with unshed tears she let herself into the house, realising just how alone she was; her mother and her were still distant after their argument.

Letty went straight to her bedroom, dropped onto the bed and cried. Big, chunky tears that ripped through her.

Pity sobs that made her feel like a child through and through.

There was no-one to be angry at except herself.

She'd caused a mess.

She couldn't blame Mia.

Lord knew she could never truly hate Dom.

"Letty." A soft knock came to her door. Her mother had attended every one of her therapy sessions, perhaps she was looking for a victim to play out what she had learnt in them. Letty wasn't in the mood. "Letty, I'm coming in." the door opened but Letty buried her face in the mattress. "What's upset you? If you don't talk to me, I don't know how to help."

Help? There was very little to help the situation, except…

"Can I go and live with Aunt Carol?" Letty asked through tears.

Her mother felt the blow as if it was physical.

"If that's what you want." Her mother's expected interrogation never came. "You can spend the summer holidays with her."

"No, now." Letty protested.

"Is everything okay?"

"No." Letty cried.

"Letty, talk to me, what happened?" What happened? She lost her two reasons for fighting to stay here. "Talk to me."

"No." Letty sat up. "You wanted me to go to Aunt Carols. I'm asking to go to Aunt Carols. I'll ring her myself if I have to."

"Letty, there's 4 weeks left until the summer holidays. We can go then if you still want to."

"Now."

"…Alright, if you are so set on this, then I will go with you."

"What?" Letty turned to her mother, blinking away the tears.

"You heard me. We both need this. I can get two weeks off of work, and my therapist has told me she can liaise with the school to authorise your leave."

"Two weeks. From this Monday?" Letty asked.

"The hospital will need to get cover in place, but potentially, yes."

Letty's mother found herself with a sobbing daughter thrown into her arms. The start of their bond repairing.


	28. Chapter 28

You guys have absolutely deserved this with such thoughtful reviews.

As with all work, you get some people that like your work, you get some that think it needs improvement. I have to say, the majority of you are amazingly positive about this, so thank you. Everyone is absolutely entitled to their opinion and it's nice to hear some suggestions for improvement, absolutely, but not everyone shares the idea of positive encouragement, they turn it into a bit of a bonfire for the writer's self esteem. But that is a very small minority.

But just for those in the minority, I do feel like I need to mention this. And I feel I need to mention it for other writers as well.

We do this for free. Out of our own time. We sit and we type, creating something that brings joy to others. We don't do it because we get paid, or because we want to hear how much we suck. We do it because we want to share something we're proud of. I cannot name the amount of fanfictions I have read, and I love the joy of getting so deep in one I am dying to read the next chapter. It's not always perfect, but we don't do this to **be** perfect. It's our free time, we donate to someone else's happiness.

I could not be happier there are people out there willing to create something as beautiful as some of the fics I've read, out of their own time, for nothing in return.

These are people that do not deserve to hear that one person thinks they suck butt, or that they should do better, or any of the horrible things we writers do get in return.

We can only be thankful that there are people out there who will take the time to reply back with the messages of support, the ones that say they are dying to read the next chapter, that they love the story. So, thank you, to those out there that support a writer! Thank you!

Oh, and I know I kind of leave you wanting more with this chapter, so I will post the next update pretty quickly (I had intended for it to be one chapter, but it got lengthy).

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty Eight; Reconciliation.**

Letty sat on the balcony, fluffy pink blanket wrapped around her, wet eyes staring at the phone she turned over and over. She was on the last day of the impromptu holiday. Two weeks were behind her and her solution has reached the true essence of the temporary status.

Tomorrow, everything would crush back down on her.

Not that the weight hadn't increased with every day here.

Still, neither Toretto had text her.

She set the phone down, hands curling into the blanket, the pointless sleeves it had inbuilt in hung limply to the tile. The only thing she liked about the damn thing, was the texture. It was warm and cushioning to her touch, it made her think of a surprise hug from a best friend or a lover. And at present, Letty had neither.

What she did have was a judgemental black night sky staring back at her. Taunting her with her inability to find peace.

She had two cousins who were currently fast asleep. But her cousins knew nothing about motors and everything about fashion, they'd talk and it would only burn at the Mia shaped hole in her chest. They'd gossip about boys, and it would singe the mental scars Dom stitched into her with every passing day of silence between them.

She had clean clothes every day, a home-cooked meal and free reign over her Aunt's car that had been sadly neglected.

She had the pieces of her relationship with her mother glued together with every night of forced family game night. From Scrabble to Monopoly and then back to the Game of Life and Boggle, it was a theatre of sorts that always ended with a sore loser, sometimes a tipped game board, dice and cards launched across the room.

But she had tossed and turned on her last night, wallowing in what she _didn't_ have.

She had imploded her best friend's relationship.

Tore apart her own it seemed.

From jealousy.

Letty looked back and hated what she recalled, she hated what it made her, she hated what it had done. If she had been able to step away, to shake herself and seal her mouth shut. She wouldn't have lost a best friend, she wouldn't have lost a boyfriend. She wouldn't have pulled herself from a pink blow up mattress on her cousin's floor and onto the balcony to ruminate in the middle of the night.

She could hardly blame Mia for not wanting to talk to her.

Surprisingly, she had received some texts about the incident.

A week ago, Alex had text her. Completely out of the blue.

He'd asked her when she was coming back, if indeed she was.

Letty had felt more alarm than anything else, instantly panicked that something was wrong with Mia. Had something happened?

But the response to her attempt at dialled back panic was plain and simple; 'it depended on if she was coming back'.

Letty felt her heart sink, instantly assuming the worst, that Mia would be okay, as long as Letty never came back. And then came the text from Alex that kept her awake now:

 _Mia misses you._

It still twisted her lips up in a sad smile as she once more looked at the words on her phone, the backlight timing out before her smile did.

Letty missed Mia too.

But, Letty didn't have the words to even begin an apology of that scale.

Even without Letty replying, Alex had text her again, reading in her emotions without even seeing her. No wonder Mia liked him so much.

Alex had told her Mia was grounded, finally given her mobile back from her brother's confiscation and Alex told Letty to stop being as stubborn as Mia liked to believe she was too and just sort it out.

But still, Mia hadn't text.

Neither had Letty. It was too hard to find the words.

Maybe it was just easier to let it go, to accept the pain she deserved.

But no, guts rose tall inside her frame.

She thought things with her mother could never be fixed.

And yet here they were back as if nothing fell apart between them.

The awkward silences and passive aggressive comments were swallowed in a matter of days.

Was this all it needed?

Some time and a long talk.

Letty brought up the texts she had with Mia.

Two weeks ago, it mocked under the last message.

But, would Mia even read an apology text?

The easier way, was to call.

But, what if…

It was Letty's last night, it could mean she returned to friends, or enemies. She needed to at least know.

Her pulse pounded.

She _had_ to know. To get out what boiled behind her lips.

She pressed dial over the name she had phoned more than any other number in the world. The history between then hadn't been long, but it had been deep. And it had been meaningful.

Letty rose her eyes to the stars, the ones she never bothered to look at a home and a squeak left her as she realised the time. It was well past midnight.

Letty scrambled to hang up, it wasn't the way to repair a friendship, waking them in the dead of night.

" _Letty?"_ the voice echoed out before she could silence the dial. It was sleepy and confused. _"Letty, you there?"_

"I'm sorry. I didn't realise the time." Letty began, already on the apologising foot and she hadn't even mentioned the worst. "I shouldn't have called." Guilt paired up with doubt and swirled around her idea, pulling it apart viciously.

" _No, no. I'm awake, it's fine. Are you okay?"_ Letty heard the bedsprings creak, adding to her shame. Concern was weaving between Mia's sleepy mumbling.

"I'm sorry." Letty began, the apology bursting from her chest with raw emotion soaking her eyes. "I didn't meant to ruin everything for you. I can't blame you for hating me. But… I…" It was hard to say the words, that she missed her best friend more than she thought.

" _You didn't really do anything that wouldn't have happened eventually."_ Letty heard the bedsprings again and could only imagine Mia would be sitting up, rubbing her eyes to wake up that bit more for the level of attention the conversation needed. _"I was really angry Letty."_ Mia admitted and Letty felt the words sink into her feet, poisoning her all the way down. _"And then Dom told me he stole your phone and found out that way. Which we totally need to have a conversation about Dom knowing your passcode. I told you your birthday was far too obvious."_

"We do?" Letty wasn't expecting Mia to slot back into this kind of conversation with her. Where was the fire that threw household objects at her head?

" _And it's kinda my fault too."_ Mia continued with a huff. _"I was cruel, even when I knew how much you liked my brother. I was never really_ _ **okay**_ _with it. And it made you think you couldn't tell me you were sleeping with him. And we were best friends, you should have been okay to tell me."_

"I wanted to… I should have. This wouldn't have happened if I had. I don't know how to fix this Mia."

" _There's not really that much to fix…"_ Letty could feel her face screw up, she had ruined everything, of course she had to fix it. _"Because you're going to come home, right?"_

"I ruined your relationship with Alex. I told Dom about you two. I broke everything for you."

" _And I tried to break your head open in return…"_ Mia admitted quietly.

"It was only a cushion…"

" _I'm sorry Letty. I thought you hated me."_

"No. I thought _you_ hated me."

" _I was pissed. But all you did was accelerate what was going to happen anyway. And I mean, I had a lot of time to think in my grounding, and phone ban… And this was not what I had planned. But, my plan was also to have them_ _ **never**_ _find out, which wasn't exactly realistic."_

"I'm so sorry Mia."

" _And… it's Dom. He would have found out anyway… he's pretty stubborn when he gets an idea and he said he already had an idea before he found out. Besides… he's like your only weakness, asking you to keep lying to him was a lot anyway."_

"Mi. I shouldn't have said anything… I was just so angry with him, I just threw it in his face without even thinking about you."

" _Forgiven."_ Mia announced, the decision made. _"It happens. Besides, I'm sure he's kept you updated with all the ways I've made him pay for the Rapunzel style grounding."_

"I, uhhh." How did she say she hadn't heard a peep from the brother that he been the catalyst in this mess? "We haven't really be talking…" Honesty was the way forward. Especially with Mia from now on.

" _But he said he… never mind."_ Mia changed her mind. _"I need you to come back before the summer holidays though."_

"Is everything okay?"

" _Urgh, no!"_ Letty could imagine the melodramatic face Mia had pulled with such words. _"Since Alex stole his father's car, he's been signed up for Camp Bluebird all summer, tutoring some younger kids instead of spending it sneaking around with me and being interrogated by my father to ask for dating privileges."_

"Your dad wants to meet him?"

" _Oh yeah, he got the full biased version from Dom, wouldn't even listen to me tell him about how Dom almost_ _ **killed**_ _him, or how Alex was perfect for me."_

"Oh…" Mr T knew? How much?

" _So I need you to come back home."_ It was a pout on Mia's lips. Letty knew without even seeing it.

"We still friends?" Letty had to ask.

" _Friends, no."_ Letty locked the last breath of sanity in her lungs. Here was the downfall. _"We're_ _ **best**_ _friends, and we pretty much signed a blood oath that nothing would break us apart."_ Letty could have cried with happiness as her last hope bloomed into joy. _"You don't get to get rid of me just because you screw my brother and made my relationship with my boyfriend more difficult."_ Letty smiled to the night sky. Things were shining again. _"I mean, unless… you don't want to…"_ It wasn't a one way street and Letty would have sprinted down that road faster than the garbled answer of 'yes' that escaped with her next breath.

"Best friends." Letty confirmed with a clear head.

" _Good."_ Mia announced and they were once more back in lockstep. Mia and Letty, teenage terrors, reunited. _"Because we have a more serious betrayal to address, and part of me is creeped out to even ask this, but I need to mention it, so, just, don't say anything too_ _ **detailed**_ _okay?"_ Letty didn't have a chance to reply between the confusion. Mia didn't need a response, as usual, she pulled the answer from Letty's silence. _"We agreed, we_ _ **swore**_ _to each other, that we would tell the other what losing our V-card was like. But it's my brother, and that bothers me a lot, so I don't know if I want to know, or not."_

"I can't tell you." Letty began.

" _I know, it's a hard decision, but… I think I want to know. Just be vague, like super vague. And refer to him as some other name."_

"We didn't have sex."

" _Yeah right."_ Mia scoffed. Letty understood why entirely. Dom had a reputation.

"That's what we were fighting about…"

"… _you're serious?"_ Mia's jaw would be on the floor most probably.

"Serious." Letty confirmed, hands working patterns into the cosy blanket.

" _So, you're saying that my brother, Dominic Anthony Toretto, plunderer of women extraordinaire has had you naked, or at least half naked, in his bedroom, in his_ _ **bed**_ _, and hasn't slept with you?"_

"For actually sleep, yes. But… I'm still a virgin."

" _Awwwwww. Oh my god. Letty, this is huge."_ It was a squeal Mia usually kept for baby animals and items of comparable cuteness. It didn't fit here though.

"What?"

" _Oh my god, it all makes sense now, and I totally get it!"_

"Get what?" Letty tried to keep the irritation out of her voice.

" _But he hasn't text you? Are you sure?"_ Letty had only checked every other hour, so yeah, she was pretty sure.

"I'm sure." The grumble rumbled out of her chest deeply. Letty turned her head to check on the sleeping bedroom, her cousins still dreaming sweetly. "Has he… said something?"

" _We're not exactly on speaking terms. I just hear bits and pieces when I'm meant to be 'thinking about how irresponsible I am'."_ Mia mimicked her father's voice for the last part, a clear copy of what she had heard over the last 2 weeks. _"I gue-"_ Mia's voice cut off short. _"Sorry Dad. It's Letty."_ There was a long pause, where Mia was obviously being told off by her father for the volume of her midnight phone call. _"I will."_ Mia promised, then whispered into the phone. _"When are you back?"_

"Tomorrow."

" _Y_ _ay, okay, you must come see me when you get back, okay?"_

Letty stared at the phone, swearing promises to her best friend like nothing had happened. The heavy cloud over her head was gone. Things were back as they were meant to be.

* * *

"I swear, Letty, if you ever ask me to go back to Aunt Carols, I am burning all her board games. If I have to sit through another game of Guess Who with my nieces, I will kill them." Letty's mother huffed as she unlocked the house. "And there is only so much patience I have for playing Cluedo with my sister before I start using the game as inspiration for my own murder spree." Siblings had a tense relationship even over 50 it seemed. "I am still having nightmares about that dice shakers rattling in my ears!" she complained, dramatically dropping her suitcase to the floor. "It's good to be home."

Letty mumbled agreement with her mother. Her Aunt seemed to think therapy **only** came from prolonged exposure of exhausting family contact. Letty and her mother had been exposed to far too much of that therapy to tolerate, at least that agreement had brought them back together. There had been a tough conversation about why Letty had wanted to leave so desperately but Letty mumbled a few words about a boy and her mother had launched into the story she so favoured about frogs and princes and then the pressure points on a man to utilise if one tried anything Letty didn't like.

"Oh, I hate mail. Half are going to be bills." Letty lifted the mail pile from the floor as her mother complained about it, her hands automatically sorting take-out menus and advertisements from the bank statements and bills. The former kept with her to go in the take-out drawer in the kitchen, the latter were sat atop her mother's suitcase. "At least Aunt Carol washed all our clothes before we left otherwise I'd be spending all day in front of the washing machine."

"Shame she didn't stock our fridge too." Letty laughed. Aunt Carol was a feeder in every sense of the word. She would appear like magic, food in her hand to tempt you with. Letty would go out with her cousins and she'd bring her purse out of her rucksack with 30 snacks she hadn't put in there herself. She always bought the good food through, the mouth-watering expensive stuff Letty never indulged in for finance reasons. Uncle Eddie had a good job though. A job he was _always_ at, but a good job.

"Tell me about it. I think I'm 5 stone heavier." her mother complained. "Alright, leave your stuff until tomorrow and go see Mia." Letty turned to her mother wondering when she learned the ability to read minds. "Please, I'm not blind. You haven't touched your mobile for two week and suddenly you can't stay off it on the way home. Go on. I'll do the food shopping after I've unpacked."

"I'll change first." Letty grinned. She still felt grubby from travelling and could do with a top that didn't scream girly (Aunt Carol had dragged her clothes shopping in an effort to make her girlier). Plus, it wasn't quite time for Dom to start work at the garage yet. She wasn't chancing the awkward re-union with him.

The second the hour hand met the 12, Dom would clock on at work and it kickstarted Letty. She shot a wave to her mother, started running out the door, along the streets that divided the best friends. Letty crashed into the bouncing female outside the Toretto house that stood tall and proud with unrivalled energy. The up-to-date stream of texts between the two had culminated in a breath stealing hug. The Toretto-Ortiz embrace threatened to knock them to the floor, it spun them as they bounced on their toes, putting all other hugs to shame.

They had barrelled into each other with a flurry of 'sorry's and 'I miss you's.

"Letty. Nice to have you back." Letty lifted her head to see Mr T standing in the doorframe with a dish towel and wet plate in his hand. Letty lifted her eyes to smile at Mia's father.

"Hey Mr T." Letty greeted, speaking over the squeal of Mia's super extended hug, which Mia had explained was encompassing over two weeks worth of missed contact.

"Your Aunt and cousins alright?"

"Uneducated." Letty answered despite the python squeeze Mia was suffocating her with. "I fixed her car whilst I was there; it was almost falling apart. She said she only took it for the MOT, got robbed blind but never touched it otherwise."

"Good girl." Mr T praised with a chuckle. "Mia." Mr T turned to his daughter who had finally released Letty enough to allow oxygen back to her lungs. "One movie. Back _before_ nine this weekend. Do we have an understanding?"

"Oh my God Dad, for like the 300th time, yes. Go and quit worrying about me. I'm not pregnant, I'm not dying, I'm not doing drugs or drinking myself into a coma. Go."

"Mia." The chastisement lost effect when he was grinning.

"Yeah yeah." She rolled her eyes and slipped back from Letty only to catch her wrist, pulling her towards the house. "Letty needs to hear all of the horrible chores you and Dom made me do without you talking over me."

"Letty knows I'm not the monster you'll make me out to be." Mr T passed Letty a friendly wink and turned back into the kitchen.

Letty scanned the home for an astray brother as Mia dragged her through it to her sanctuary, rambling on about dishes, cooking and cleaning duties she had been bestowed.

Letty didn't get a chance to even look at his bedroom door, open or closed, before Mia launched into her tirade about mowing the lawn with the 'crappy cheap mower'.

Letty's next blink was to the sound of Mia's door closing behind them and Mia's grilling of non-father approved conversation began.

"He really hasn't messaged you?" Mia asked, spinning to face her, surprise lacing her features.

There was no clarity needed for who the 'he' was.

"He's not interested Mi. It's for the best." Or so she had been telling herself.

"I don't get it, do you have missed calls? Did you block his number by accident?" Mia was helping herself to the mobile sitting in Letty's jean pocket.

"It doesn't matter." Letty laughed, batting off her pseudo-siblings hands.

"I don't get it."

"He's a man. We're not meant to understand them." Letty spoke, wise beyond her years. "Guess my time ran out." she bitterly added.

"No." Mia shot out, then her teeth started worrying her lip as Letty saw her brain cogs turning.

"What?" Letty implored. "We agreed no more secrets." she reminded her helpfully.

"I kinda, maybe, sorta, had a tiny, teensy, very very minuscule explosion about the double standard of Dom doing what I thought at the time that he did and him getting in a huff about me doing it. And well… Dad knows everything at this point anyway. But, Dad kinda said that he'd already had this conversation with Dom recently."

"What conversation?"

"I don't know. And I didn't want to know because I was mad at the time and didn't want to know anything about my brother's sex life with my best friend. It would be like serial killer staring at next victim kind of weird."

"Still into the crime channel." Letty muttered, rolling her eyes. "It really doesn't matter Mia, h-"

"No, you're missing the point. My dad kicked me off to bed after I may have, perhaps, got a little verbally hostile, but I heard him talking to Dom about all of this, and I could have sworn he said he was going to talk to you about something."

"What something?"

"I don't know. It was quiet but he sounded sincere. And I kinda figured that maybe my best friend and my brother isn't the _worst_ thing to happen in the world."

"Oh." Letty sat herself on the bottom bunk. Mia finally came around and it was for nothing.

"And I am totally supportive, in a way that means I want to know no details, because I will always rank number 1 because I'm your best friend, right?"

"You're always my number one." Letty spoke, the honesty cutting at her heart. She had very little without Mia. The past two weeks evidenced that well.

"He'll call." Mia began again, hope twinkling in her eyes. "Once he sees you again, he'll be back to how he was with you."

"He'll have moved on." Letty guessed, education from history a strong indicator of future here. Dom didn't and wouldn't change.

"He hasn't." Mia attempted again. But Letty's face wasn't encouraging her emotional support attempts. She tried the next best thing; distraction. "Did you see what Penelope posted about Maddison?"

"Was that her cousin she was kissing?!" Letty joined in, equally as enthralled about any gossip to do with the bitch that was Maddison. Letty provided her version of internet updates, missing how Mia drilled a hole in the wall with her eyes. Her brother was in serious shit if he fucked this up. She was going beyond fair play. She was going to put sand in his oil and salt in his petrol. It was going to take sibling war to the next level entirely; his cars wouldn't be excluded anymore.


	29. Chapter 29

Thank you for all the kind words, you guys! Your reviews put a huge grin on my face, thank you :)

I promised the next update quickly, and here you go. It's got that bit of Dotty you all wanted. Not sure you'll will like where I ended this though.

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty Nine; Ultimatum**

Saturday morning greeted her with the usual ribbing from the guys at the garage.

"Yo Letty, enjoy your extra holiday?" Vince greeted her, heavy on the sarcasm.

"Yeah, couldn't you wait like a few extra weeks?" Leon joined in. "You know when you're _meant_ to sack off school and go around the globe."

"I didn't go around the globe." Letty corrected with a laugh, following the boys into the garage only to notice the building next door was now being mentally assessed by Jesse. "You guys finalise buying next door?"

"Yeah, Dom got bored." Vince grunted out. "Figured we'd do most of the manual labour side ourselves. Mr T is right happy with what he paid for it too. Got it at a bargain because we'd do all the hard stuff."

"What kind of stuff?"

"Needs new ceiling mainly." Leon interjected, following Letty's feet towards the small office.

"That what Dom's doing now?" Letty asked, unable to see him in the office as she approached.

"Nah. He's been at it all last week since it changed hands. Got day off."

"Oh." Letty didn't cover her surprise too well, but ducked into the office to pull off her clipboard of jobs. Only… no clipboard. "Mr T leave me a list?" she asked from the doorway as she stuck her head back out.

"Figured you might end up spending the day with Mia so he didn't make you one." Leon had hung around and was quick to answer.

"So what am I meant to do?"

"Dunno, wash the cars?" Leon suggested with a smile.

"It's a garage, not slave labour car wash." Letty grumbled, pinning her eyes to Vince (the next of seniority in the garage). "Give me your work." She stuck her hand out, knowing full well the list in the back pocket of his jeans would get done faster with her doing it. She didn't get distracted by customers like he did.

She wasn't going to lie, it stung a bit that Dom wasn't in, but if he'd been fixing the ceiling of the other building all week, he was probably exhausted.

She missed him. In a weird, I hate you but really really don't kind of way.

"Nah, free car washes for all customers to compensate for the building works happening." Vince protectively turned his work sheet away from her.

"You _are_ kidding me?" Letty tested, but Vince pointed to the blue flyer attached to the wall of the office she had entirely ignored. Sure enough, Vince was telling the truth. "So take them to the automatic wash and charge them extra." It wasn't what she was expecting to come back to and certainly wasn't her job.

"You wanna take this up with Dom?" Vince wasn't in the mood to enforce today it seemed.

"I'm not spending all day washing some piece of shit car when I can be fixing them." Although the weather was in her favour; it was a scorcher. All of the guys were sweating into their greasy tank tops already.

Dom would have understood it was a waste of her talents.

Vince just waved at her and pulled his mobile out of his pocket, pulling Dom into speaker mode and setting him atop the BMW that had come in for an MOT.

" _What?"_

"We're still hand washing the cars, right?" Vince just spoke. Dom could obviously hear the work in the background.

" _This is why you're ringing? I'm with Ella. Bitch and moan to my dad on Monday if you don't like it."_

 _Ella._ Who the hell was Ella?

"Not for me. Letty's not got no work and is kicking off about it."

" _Letty's back?"_

"Yeah, standing in front of me." Vince turned to her. "Kinda got a dumbass luck on her face… which now looks angry." Vince backed up a step.

" _I'll come in, sort it out. I'll bring Ella and show her around as well."_

"It's fine. I'll wash the stupid cars." Letty grumbled to Vince quietly, shoving past him to the courtyard out back. Of course he had someone new.

He had no obligation to her. Nothing more than some childish agreement.

Jesse was out there, sketchpad in hand as he sat on the hood of the recovery truck.

"You got landed with washing duty?" he asked as she stepped out, rolling up the thin, decorative but useless, sleeves of the top she wore with the jean shorts.

"Yep. What you doing?" she crossed over and peered over his drawing arm. "That the garage?"

"Well, it's what it could be?" Jesse sheepishly tilted the sketch pad over. Usually filled with custom covers for cars or idealistic engines birthed from his creative mind, this one was a conceptual idea that showed Letty possibility in the small mind of the garage. It looked neat, clean, manly and yet homely. Jesse conceived the idea with the scrap metal they usually sold to be melted down. He suggested an entrance with an awning of the ford trucks bonnet suspended with exhaust pipes.

"This looks amazing." Letty complimented, intrigued by the flower beds he's sketched rising out of empty decaying too-worn to use tyres.

Two weeks had changed things dramatically for the garage.

"Mia wanted flowers, said it would bring in more female clientele." Jesse explained as he followed her eyesight.

"And you still managed to keep it masculine." she praised.

"And cheaper as well. If we use all old body parts from the scrap, it's a lot less budget."

"This is fantastic."

"Was Dom's idea." Jesse explained. "Said we should try to recycle most for the build."

Letty found herself nodding, of course it would be Dom's idea. She smiled to Jesse and turned to the outside tap and line of cars awaiting her.

Dom had a lot of ideas. It seemed his most recent had led him to someone new.

But of course he already found someone else.

Ella.

Sounds like a slutty name, Letty thought.

She couldn't believe how quickly he had moved on.

And why? Because she'd asked for what he so easily gave to everyone else?

Bastard.

Letty turned on the tap and let the bucket fill to the brim.

Two weeks was all he took to find someone else.

Probably less, her brain offered.

He probably found someone the next day. This is just the 30th dirty ride on a slut post-letty marathon.

The first few cars had an aggressive kind of shine put into them, elbow grease working through a variety of problems she was faced with.

And then came lunch break. Her lunch had been mostly a pity party for her low self-esteem until the Toretto siblings' voices carried from the driveway through the garage and to her ears. Heard long before she could catch sight of either of them.

"It's not structurally sound!" Dom repeated.

"It would be if you put some thought and money into it." Mia's voice hissed.

"We aren't doing it, end of story." Dom fired out, intent of closing the argument and fast.

Letty wiped her hands on her thigh, crumbs of her sandwich falling to the floor.

Jesse passed her a look which she ignored as she slid off her seat with him on the truck's hood and crept to get a look.

"It's recycled, it's beautiful. It's solar powered and it's zen."

"It's a garage. It's pointless and we're not doing it." Dom bit back.

Letty peered around to see him.

The asshole and the man, with arms waving as he argued, muscles flexing with each motion in the sun, and… a pretty brunette with legs longer than reason standing next to him, arms crossed under her ample bust like she had two neurons to rub together to think about something.

"It doesn't cost and you can even use car parts to keep in with your theme." Mia protested.

"Let me say this slowly, just so we are clear." Dom stepped forward into her space. "The garage does not need a waterfall." he enunciated each syllable carefully, the point driven hard.

Letty recoiled slightly, that's what they were arguing about? A waterfall. Mia must have lost herself in the designer role.

"I'm not saying it needs a waterfall. I'm saying I want to discuss one. Which you can't seem to do, because you won't spend five minutes talking to me." Mia huffed.

That explained the insanity. It wasn't a want for a pointless waterfall, it was a want for her brother to finally talk to her again, about any ludicrous idea she may conjure for the purpose of that.

"No discussion necessary. We're no-"

"I think Dom means that although he respects your ideas." The brunette started talking, a hand to Dom's bicep as she did, speaking for his opinion with her musical beauty of a voice. "And although I think a solar power waterfall running through some old open-cut engines would look fricking awesome. He thinks you can come up with something better. Like the planters. Something less intrusive."

"You think it's a good idea?" Mia asked the brunette softly. No insult from her words, no backlash to her. But damn sincerity as she smiled, proud of her idea.

"Absolutely, can't you see it? If we got an old engine, took out the insides, cleaned it up and used each half to pour down from one level into the other, I think I would have that in my back garden for sure. Exhaust pipe to hide the water pump maybe? Adapted steering wheel as a waterwheel that turned with the motion, it would be beautiful." Letty heard mocking, Mia must have heard beauty because she was looking up at whom Letty presumed was Ella, with wide eyes and a smile. "But, men got small bladders and running water isn't going to help, and then they'll end up peeing all the time, no work would be done and they'd get arrested for indecent exposure." Ella summed quickly. "So, perhaps it's not the best idea for the workplace."

"See." Mia snapped to her brother. "That's how you discuss something." Mia shoved her brother with a muttered 'asshole' and turned back to the shop.

"Ohhhh, you are in so much trouble with her." Ella turned around to Dom, sliding her arm down and around from bicep to wrist as she turned to stand in front of him. "She has not forgiven you at all." She knew? Dom was telling his whores about family business? What had he said about her? Had he been telling them how she sat on his bed straddling him, hopelessly trying to get him to sleep with her? Did he tell them that she had trouble getting herself off? Did he share every intimate moment?

Suddenly Letty found herself loathing being back in the state.

But running away wasn't the answer.

Punching the brunette in the face however, that seemed more viable.

Kicking Dom in the nuts; that seemed more satisfying.

Did she mean fucking nothing to him?

That he would come around with a new bitch, parade her under her nose the first day she was back. Evidence how little she meant?

"Letty in the back?" Dom asked Vince as he made his way over the sibling chaos.

"Yeah, on washing duty. Even vacuumed out one of the people carriers we got. Total MILF's car." Vince laughed.

It had been a state, but Letty had seen the mother pull up with a baby on her arm and two twin boys running around her feet. She's apologised a million times that she hadn't had a chance to clean it out before she brought it in. Letty figured the least she could do in the spare half an hour was give it a tidy inside as well. At the very least _she_ would appreciate it. And she did, when she came to pick it up just before her lunch break she had pretty much strangled Leon in the hug she gave him. Told him she'd be back again if she ever needed anything else.

"Give you much trouble?" Dom asked quietly. Not quiet enough to Letty's listening ears though.

"Nah." Vince's reply met a raised eyebrow, that damn raised eyebrow that expected more.

"Com'on, you can meet her." Dom offered to his brunette babe.

Letty tucked herself back around the wall.

"Earwiggers always hear things they don't want to." Jesse preached as she passed him, she shot an evil glare in reply.

Letty cut her lunch short at that moment and put herself back with the vacuum turned on inside the next filth sty of a car.

Dom's head came into her vision a few seconds later.

Letty pulled out her best, most over-you behaviour and smiled and waved before returning to the task of vacuuming, muttering under her breath.

"Letty." he called out over the vacuum, she just smiled at him again and carried on. No way in hell was she playing meet and greet to his new bitch.

He should just pork her in private like any other other good ex would. Not parade her in front of her, with her big tits, bouncy ass and dear God, her legs seriously went on for miles.

How were they that long?

In God's name, how was it even possible she was this pretty and knew even a base level of intelligence?

There was a sudden cut of power to Letty's vacuum and she turned around to the power supply to find Dom twirling the plug in his fingers.

Asshole.

"What?" she bit out quickly.

"I'll get you a proper list for tomorrow." he offered in peace.

"Right."

"This is Ella." He stepped back and outstretched an arm to the woman. Letty offered her nothing just another analysis of how could she possibly be this pretty? At least her replacement wasn't dog ugly; however little comfort that was. "She's one of the new hires." Letty felt her brain implode in her skull.

New hires?

As in she was working here?

With her?

With him?

Together?

"Hi." Ella smiled, a perfect, white teeth, all straightly aligned smile. "I'm looking forward to working together. It's been a while since I've worked with another woman."

It was nice, it was pleasant, but Letty didn't like her. Coming in here with her long legs and watermelon tits like she belonged here.

"Hi." Letty replied, mouth on autopilot with manners. What else was she meant to say?

Thankfully, Jesse swooped in to relieve her.

"Ella, hey, you wanna see the latest design idea?" Jesse was saviour to her awkwardness and probably didn't even know it. Then again, by the sideways smile he gave Letty, perhaps he did.

"Oh, you finished another section?" She took her long long legs over to Jesse's sketchpad and leant over the bonnet in the most alluring way possible. Of course she would.

Letty hated her.

"What?" Dom asked quietly, standing over Letty's shoulder as she killed the newest hire with her eyes.

Bitterness demanded she do damage, for him to hurt as much as she did. She pulled out her temper quickly.

"You could at least keep your dick out of the workplace." Letty sneered.

"Bit hypocritical." he commented, withdrawing the plug from her reach when she attempted to snatch it back.

"I'm not waltzing around with 'longest legs of the year'." Letty snatched out for the plug again, he neatly dodged her, her actions pulling her flush to him again.

"Longest legs of the year." he repeated with a grin. "She'll like that."

"I don't care." Letty pushed against him with a hard shove.

Dom was quick to follow her motions though, taking a long stride and snaring her in his arms, a step with her close to him and they were both shielded from view of the others. Their secret space again, between cars, metal and wood; they were alone.

"Yes; you do." he corrected, hands on her body and keeping her close.

"Then why bring her here, why hire her? Why not just fuck her and ditch her like everyone else." Self depreciatively, Letty couldn't help but add, "Except me." Because it was true, Dom didn't need to fuck her to ditch her.

She'd just been ditched.

"You forgetting what happened two weeks ago?"

"No. But you've clearly forgotten about me." She broke away from his arms.

"You think I don't care." But it wasn't angry. It was half surprised, half wounded. Like her attitude had hurt him. What did he expect?

"I know you don't care." she snapped, wanting to inflict the emotional wound he was surely faking. "You never did, you just agreed to some stupid deal I asked from you."

"Letty, if I didn't care for you, why wouldn't I just give you what you wanted and leave you?"

"If you _did_ care, you would have given me what I wanted." she retorted.

"I'm not dating Ella." he clarified.

"Well yeah, casual sex isn't dating." she smartly replied. "But it's none of my business what your dick does."

"Why won't you believe me?" Soft and heart-filled, his eyes seemed to pierce right through her.

"You turned me down." Letty reminded him bitterly. "You don't want me." Rejection stung when it was fresh, but it was the ache that remained that was killing her.

Dom didn't reply, just reached his hand out to her. She stepped back, her eyes looking behind her for an escape.

Through the angles of the windows of the car, she saw the reflection of Ella flirting with Jesse. Laughter bouncing back to her ears.

Ella probably hadn't ever heard a man say no to her.

"Letty, let me take you out on a date." he proposed softly, his fingers wrapping with hers. They were warm, which sent tingles all over her body with the possibility of what they could have been. But the darkness of the past polluted her desire to say yes.

"Why, so you can turn me down in public as well?" she pulled her hand back from what she wanted.

"You're not going to understand or forgive that are you?"

Laughter bubbled from behind them again and Letty turned her head once more. Ella was curled over the bonnet in tears of laughter at something Jesse had said.

"You want forgiveness?" she said, a dark idea in her mind. "Give me what I want."

"Letty, this isn't something you bargain with."

"You want me to understand and forgive you, then this is my price."

"No." Dom physically stepped back. "You should save it for someone you love."

"I did." she hissed quietly. "Now I just want it out of the way."

"Then my answer is no." he said. "I'd rather you hate me that want me out of spite."

"Are you kidding?!" she huffed. "Again, you fuck any bitch that walks your way, except for me. What does every other female on the planet have that I don't?! What is the big difference?!"

"They're not you." he argued as quietly as he could. "And…" like it was some secret, he leaned in. "And I don't care about them Letty. Not like I do wi-"

"You don't care about me." She stepped forward, the reminder sharp and fierce in tone.

"Yes. I do. Why can't you see that I l-"

"If you care about me, you'll honour our deal and fuck me." Letty knew it was an ultimatum but she still continued with it, "because if you don't. I'll find someone who will." Letty dropped the words, knowing his reaction would not be pleasant. She watched the anger bloom in his eyes. For a second she thought he would stick with his first decision; that he would call her bluff and tell her to find someone else.

And then the hard set of his eyes conceded to her.

"If this is truly, honestly, swear to god, what you want, then fine." In the numbness of his acceptance, she allowed him the touch he wanted, to draw her back to him. "Tonight, if you want. But if you come over and want to watch a movie, or eat take out, or do anything else at all. That's just as good Letty. Better."

"I know wh-"

"You don't get a do-over Letty." he interrupted, trying against all of her logic to make her see the reality of this.

She did, on some level. But the clouds of anger and rejection were blinding to the severity of her decision.

"Mia?" Letty asked quietly.

"She's out at a movie until 9." He brushed the stray hair from her eyes and met them with a gravity Letty didn't understand. "We can go back to how we were, no pressure, nothing you're not ready for."

"I'm re-"

"Dominic!" Ella's voice pierced their moment. "We could absolutely fit a water feature in here." she laughed loudly. "You have to see this!"

Letty had felt victorious for those few seconds of Dom's agreement, until Ella's laugher had his smirk- the smirk he used to give her- pulling at his lips, laughter pulled from him as he stepped back from Letty, an eyeroll for Ella shot at Letty before he was stepping out of their bubble and straight into Ella world.

Letty felt the jealousy crinkle up into her eyes, the way he placed himself next to her, the way she grabbed out for him as she buckled with laughter. The way he could return her flirtation without needing to hide behind cars and prying eyes.

Of course he wanted Ella.

Who wouldn't want Miss Legs?

Letty would let him have her after tonight. But for the beaten heart, for the teenage dream, for the girl that wanted her first time to be with the beautiful bold, boisterous and self-proclaimed manwhore that won her heart at the races. Just tonight; then she was done.


	30. Chapter 30

Oh wow, you guys and your reviews are blowing me away!

Thank you!

You asked for the next chapter as soon as I could, and this is it.

I've read all of your comments and I am so glad you see underneath the want of lust here. It is a HUGE moment for Letty, and as much as we want her to, she doesn't exactly handle it with the attention it deserves.

* * *

 **Chapter Thirty; Violation of Trust**

Letty spent work looking up every two minutes to some new giggle Ella had bubbling free. She was distracted by every male laugh in response to another Ella-ism. She lost focus when she caught the glimpse of Ella bending over something else, drawing every male eye in the place.

Letty had never considered herself territorial over the garage or even the stupid guys in it, but it felt like Ella had stormed into her life and taken her perfectly long legs to walk over it with her footprints obscuring Letty from view.

Even Vince, who was notoriously grumpy with any new staff had warmed to Ella faster than he did with Letty.

Ella had Leon and Jesse following her with their eyes, she had a story for every occasion and burned bright yellow bringing laughter to the garage. She'd sang along to a few bars of Meatloaf on the radio and that was the guy's opinions sold.

Ella stayed.

Dom had slapped his hands on his thighs as the drum beat to her solo and Letty felt herself slip into second place.

But, if Dom was to be believed, if he hadn't done anything with Ella. Then Letty had a prize she could claim first. Before Ella wove her charms around him entirely.

First… if not forever.

Letty would be a better mechanic, able to eat more of cake than the stick bitch, but she would be able to work knowing she had had Dom before her.

That he was the first to have her.

That he was something special, if only for those few fleeting weeks they had together.

They say shooting stars burn the brightest but fade the fastest, was that what they were?

Was this the final burn before they finished their course together?

Most probably.

But it didn't stop Letty from crossing the road over to Dom's the second she knew Mia had left after work. It didn't stop Letty from leaving a bra at home and pulling on the sexiest panties she had (which were only black with lace trimmings).

The only thing that paused Letty at all was the way Ella walked into her mind with her long legs and asked her if she was sure she wanted to do this.

She was.

Dom was on his bed when she let herself in, naked apart from a pair of jeans, laptop resting on his hips as he moved his fingers on the mousepad.

"Porn?" she asked cleverly as she let herself in.

"The garage." he corrected with a smile.

"It came a long way in two weeks." she complimented.

"Yeah." he agreed. "You wanna find something to watch, I've just got to finish this."

Letty accepted the remote that was passed to her, feeling oddly ignored as he returned his attention to the laptop. Here she was, ready to shuck clothes and hop to it and he was doing work?

Whatever, they had an agreement.

Letty turned on the tv, finding some mindless vampire teenage drama that occasionally had violent bloody murders in and let it play whilst she sat on the bed.

Dom barely lifted his head to her, full focus on the laptop.

"What are you doing?" she asked quietly after a few moments of silence. She had missed a lot of the garage updates, but it looked like most was at hand.

"The surveyor sent across the report for the building."

"And?" she probed, creeping closer to peer at the screen herself.

"It needs more work than we thought." he sighed. "What you watching?" he turned his head from her to the tv.

"It doesn't matter." she dismissed it. "Do you need long?" she nodded at the laptop.

"No… guess not." He slid the laptop closed and set it under the bed out of the way.

Letty smiled, ready for his lips on hers, hands under her hoodie, fingers teasing.

She wasn't ready for him rolling out of bed and pulling on a shirt.

A cold trickle of rejection started in her head. The longer he fiddled with the hem, the more it poisoned her bloodstream, flowing into a cold shiver down her spine. He must be making it excuses, finding a way out of the deal.

Letty sank to her bum on the bed. Enthusiasm broken.

"We should talk." Dom announced, taking seat on the chair, away from the bed, away from her.

"You're going back on your word." she guessed, rejection stinging again.

"No." he answered. "But you agreed you'd try to understand my side of this." Letty lifted her eyes, but shot them back down to the duvet quickly. "I won't deny. I have had a lot of women. I didn't care to know their names, or who they were, or what they liked. I just took what I wanted; what they wanted, and we went our own ways. And I was happy with that. But you are different." Letty already knew that, it's what she had been saying. "And it's difficult for me to change that way of thinking. And for you to see things differently." Her? Letty felt the start of a headache creep into her brain. Dom carried on talking, something about his delusions about caring about her or at least pretending to. Letty knew what this was and that was what was important. One and done.

Dom was never going to change, that was just what it was.

He liked women.

He liked her less than everyone else and had to psych himself up for her.

Whatever.

He could think of _Ella_ if he needed to.

But Letty had a virgin curse she wanted to get rid of. She wanted to be like the girls at the races, whom knew what they wanted, knew what they had, knew how to get it and didn't give a damn about anything else.

Through everything, Letty still looked at Dom and wanted to see forever.

Despite the rejection, Letty wanted to be everything for him.

Letty couldn't be everything, but she could take this souvenir for life.

Maybe it was selfish, maybe it was one sided, maybe it was even immoral, but it was what Letty wanted.

Dom didn't care like she did. But Dom wouldn't be rough, he wouldn't be inexperienced, he wouldn't be awkward and wrong.

It would be a good way to enter womanhood.

Others had had much worse.

This would be her decision, her way and her choice.

"Do you understand what I'm saying, Letty?" he asked and Letty realised she'd zoned out for his 'understanding' speech.

Letty played the safe bet and nodded. "Do you understand why I said no before? Why I didn't text?"

"Yeah." Letty lied swiftly.

"And you want this?" he reiterated the same question he had surely regurgitated in his entire speech.

"I want this."

"You're sure. You understand where I'm coming from." He stood tall, from toe to shoulder looking like a god among men. Features of his face tight with worry, anticipation hid behind them. He wanted her?

"Absolutely." she swore, no thoughts to her mind other than that she wanted him. She wanted this. She was ready.

"We can stop at any time." he reminded her unnecessarily, standing from his chair.

"Not necessary." she replied, eyes on the way he pulled the shirt off over his head, the stupid unnecessary shirt that barely lasted a few minutes.

It mocked her, like she wasn't capable of listening to him while he didn't wear one. She wasn't a complete slave to her baser desires.

"If you change your mind."

"I'll stop you." she swore, eyes on him as he popped the button on his jeans.

"You don't need to say why or anything, just tell me stop and we'll watch whatever stupid TV this is and it's not a problem."

"We covered this." she guessed it was somewhere in his speech, from his lack of correction, she guessed she was right. "I trust you."

And she did. Perhaps not with fidelity, or morality. But to keep her safe… yes.

Teenage girls would play that game of 'if school was the only place left alive and you had to sleep with someone in school to repopulate the planet who would you do?' and Letty always said she would rather let the population die, until she met Dom. And her answer changed that she would go out to search for him.

And now. It was him.

It was her moment.

She trusted him with this. With tonight.

Dom pushed the jeans to the floor, standing there with black boxers as if to match the black panties she wore, looking hot as fuck as he walked over to the bed again. Letty shuffled back, letting him sit against the headboard and spread his arms in invitation.

"As much or as little as you want to do. I did promise I would let you explore."

The invitation to the Dom buffet was open and Letty stared at the banquet no idea where to start.

She took the safety-route, the one that prompted her to slide her leg over his hips, straddling him, her hands on his chest, familiar and warm.

They rose as he breathed in.

But his eyes, they locked to hers at all times, as if reading every reaction and blush in great details.

She lowered herself closer to him.

Kissing.

First base.

She saw their first kiss in her mind. She recalled his mint chewing gun, his sunglasses hooked on his shirt. The way he held her tight and pressed his lips to hers like she was the only one who could save him. Letty pressed her lips to his.

There was a taste she recognised but couldn't place on his lips. He answered her kiss though. Hands on her hips as she angled herself against him, deepening the kiss to properly tick first base. She chased the taste on his tongue until she gave in on its name, instead focussed on the way his thumbs slipped under her hoodie, seeking more skin.

She was happy to give.

Letty sat back over the semi-hard erection, more than happy to grind slowly against it as she grabbed the hem of her hoodie and pulling it off in one.

Dom groaned, hands quickly betraying his proclaimed idea that Letty was in charge and seeking her breasts.

Letty rose up on her legs, giving him the access he wanted to suckle a nipple into his mouth, her hand reaching behind her, finding the hardness between his legs and rubbing over the cotton of the boxers, sliding up and down on the length.

Emboldened, she removed her hand from outside the cotton and tugged the material down, just enough for his erection to jut free. Her inexperienced fingers were quick to wrap around it. Second base ticked off.

Her mind went back to where she had seen him in the bathroom, entertaining himself, where she had felt him for the first time. She rocked him in her hand. His pleasure groaned against her nipples, sending a vibration from tip of her breast to between her legs.

"Let me eat you, Let." Dom requested, heavy eyes, swimming in lust. "If that's okay." he continued.

Letty had a good idea what he was requesting, enough that she wanted a huge yes. "It's okay if-" but his backpeddling was cut short as she nodded and swung her legs off him and of the bed to stand and pull down the jeans shorts she still wore, her black panties gone too.

"Let me?" she asked, crawling back onto the bed, but between his legs, her mouth above his dick.

"Straddle me baby, turn around." It took a bit of manhandling her legs but when Dom's tongue pressed against her sex in 69 position with her over him, Letty was totally for it.

Letty's brain pulled up every article she'd ever read about giving head and reviewed anything her brain could grab whilst she was losing focus on anything but the fucking amazing way his tongue pressed against her.

Holy fuck.

She took confidence from her own lust and sealed her mouth over the tip of his cock.

He groaned deep, right into her sex, drawing a moan from her, which vibrated down his dick and caused another.

Third base took a giant tick through it as Letty started boldly taking more of him, his width stretching her jaw out, her movements assisted by a hand at the base. Just like the online articles recommended, not that Letty could recall much more as she continued her efforts, her own pleasure rocking through her over and over.

His tongue was currently circling her clit, his fingers drilling into her with speed.

She was going to come, she recognised these feelings, these strong, blow your socks off, oh my sweet jesus, feelings. She released him with a pop and pulled forwards, rotating herself.

"I wanna come with you inside me." she spoke, like a dirty fantasy from hell.

Dom groaned out another round of 'are you sure?' before grabbing a condom and flipping their position. Well practised hands sheathed him and lined up.

"You sure?" he asked again, holding his tip against her entrance, scanning her eyes for any doubt and finding nothing but a woman raising an eyebrow at him and nodding. She pulled his lips back to hers and Dom replaced his scissoring fingers with something a lot thicker than fingers.

He groaned into her lips, a hard breath over her. "Let."

"I'm okay, keep going." she replied, foreseeing his constant questions. "I'm okay." she replied to another inch stretching her. It was a burn, an odd feeling of really chunky fingers, and yet, it felt good. "I'm okay." she cut off as he opened his eyes to hers again. She dragged his lips back to hers, hands on his back as he pushed into her.

She'd dreamt of this, of one night being everything Dom wanted.

Of being his through and through.

Of a Friday night where he'd come back from the races, have a drink and take her from Mia's bedroom, demanding he hav-

Letty recalled the taste in his mouth.

Alcohol.

Beer?

Dom pushed past the last barrier of Letty's innocence and she felt a hitch of pain that she was entirely expecting.

"Letty? You ok-"

"Yeah." she answered quickly, feeling him withdraw before sliding back inside her.

He'd been drinking?

Letty opened her eyes, peering over Dom's back to the room.

Corona bottles on the side table. Three drained, one half empty.

He'd been drinking?

Letty felt a friction against her insides as he slid back in to hilt. The kind of rub that wasn't entirely unpleasant, but known.

When would he be drinking?

In the short time between him finishing work and her coming over?

He withdrew again, more than last time, almost fully out before slowly pressing back in.

Because of her?

Because he needed to?

Because he couldn't put her off with his fake work constantly?

Because he needed dutch courage to work himself up to her?

Letty felt tears sting at her eyes.

Why?

Because of course he wanted Ella.

He'd spent all their time together putting off sex, telling her she wasn't ready.

Because he didn't want to do this.

Because he didn't want her.

Because he needed to be drunk to even contemplate being with her.

Her nails pinched at his skin as she formed fists.

Tears slid free.

The piston of his hips driving him into her no longer felt pleasurable, it felt like he was tearing a wound into her, rubbing into it with each rock of motion.

"Letty, you okay?" he asked, a hard breath, a groan of pleasure.

He was probably faking it, trying to fulfil what she demanded of him.

Of course he wouldn't want her.

She was little Letty from the next street over than followed him around with moon eyes.

She had no breasts, no hips, no fashion sense.

And she didn't have Ella's legs.

The tears overspilled before she could catch them, dropping onto his back.

"Letty?" he stilled entirely. Rising up but her arms had him locked tight, her chin over his shoulder. He was not going to see her like this. "Letty?" he asked, panic in his voice.

She held herself stiff as a board, glued to him, eyes to the ceiling as she wished she had been more observant, wished she hadn't been so Dom focussed to see he didn't want her.

He cared about her, he wanted her to know that, but he probably just meant 'as his sister's best friend'.

Not in the way Letty wanted.

Not in the way a man could soberly love his woman.

Dom pulled all the way out of her and Letty couldn't stop the sob that broke free from her mouth, pain ripping between her legs. "Letty, you gotta talk to me." he pleaded. He tugged at the arms locking her away from his gaze and she broken hold, but only to drop entirely beneath his body, curling into her side, arms covering her face as she prayed the tears to stop. It was only the most heart shattering moment she had yet encountered, she could survive this without tears.

Without adding to the embarrassment of the fucked up realisation she made. "Jesus, Letty, I got a million things I'm thinking and none are good, you gotta talk to me. Does it hurt, do you need anything?"

"I'm fine." Letty lied out from her ball. "I'm sorry." she whimpered. She asked him to do something he didn't want to, and he did.

He did care, it just wasn't in the way she wanted.

"What?" Dom's confusion came with a sigh, a groan and a weight change on the bed. "Wait here, okay."

Letty listened to the rustle of fabric, then the door open and close.

A gutwrenching sob broke free before she pulled herself together.

There was the sound of water and Letty figured he was going to wash all memory off of her. No point in being here when he came back to tell her how shit she was in the sack.

Of how much he wanted it to be someone else.

 _Anyone_ else.

Letty wiped her hands against her face and turned to try to find her clothes.

Get dressed and go, that was the plan.

Letty rolled herself to the edge of the bed and shuffled to find her feet on the carpet, but standing didn't agree with her and she dropped to the floor, head dropped to her knees, curled in on herself.

"Com'on Letty." Strong arms came around her, hooking under her knees and around her back and she found herself lifted.

Probably to throw out of the house, she thought bitterly.

But the sound of water was growing nearer and Letty found herself lowered by strong arms into a half filled warm bath.

A few seconds later, hairy muscular legs poked either side of her vision and she was pulled to a chest.

"I'm so sorry Letty." he whispered against her skin, kisses pressed to her shoulders as he moved her hair to one side.

Letty felt the arms wrap around her and hold her tight as her brain ran away with her.

The darkest thought permeated her mind and span her in circles.

She'd raped him.

Forced him to do something he didn't want to do.

So desperate for some kind of recognition by him she ignored his wishes entirely.

She was the sick scum of the earth that didn't care about anybody else's feelings.

She'd violated Dom.

The one man she loved.

"Letty, you gotta talk to me." His voice was low, concerned, reserved. "Or at least let me wash you, there's still blood on your thighs."

Blood?

Letty glanced down between her drawn knees. It was the smallest of streaks.

Oh yeah.

Virginity.

Not anymore.

There was the dull throb of pain that was barely registering between her legs.

She wasn't a virgin anymore.

The victory felt nothing akin to sweet.

The taste of Dom's Corona was still lingering on her tongue.

Dom's hands came back into view, they unwrapped his hold on her and took the bath flannel from the rack of male accessories. She peeked through hidden eyes as he claimed a shower gel from the shelf also.

She remained numb as he took the cloth over her limbs, up and down the legs she kept caged to her body, along the arms that cradled her.

Gentle and practical, he washed the blood from her.

"Letty?" he asked quietly, finished with his task.

"I'm fine." she whispered.

"What happened?"

"I won't ask again." she swore, a murmur from her.

"Letty." But she was standing from him, stepping out of the water.

He was faster, grabbing a towel and catching her in a hug before manipulating her into sitting on the lip of the bath with him. "Letty, we need to discuss this."

"I'm sorry." She turned her face from him. "I shouldn't have asked you to do that."

"Letty?" he chased her vision, anything to read what was launching itself through her brain.

"I made you do it." A breath followed her words, one that shook and betrayed her false sense of strength.

"You didn't make me do anything." Confused and worried, Dom pleaded one last time for answers. "Letty, wh-"

"I won't ask again, I swear." she cut him off quickly, shutting down.

"Go and get into bed, alright. I'll get some ice-cream and we're going to talk." Dom rubbed his fingers on his temples.

Whether through obedience or her own desire, Letty clenched her fingers on the towel and left back to Dom's bedroom. But the bedding greeted her with a red smudge, small enough to be anything else but Letty turned away from it.

The sound of the draining water sang from the bathroom.

Letty yanked her underwear from the floor, feeling the same strange stretch and burn that had tormented her earlier. She pulled a leg into each hole of the panties and dragged them up and over. The shorts were quick to follow, the hoodie over her second later.

The water left on her body stuck the items to her but she didn't care.

She'd raped Dom.

The man she loved.

Before the tears could start again, she was out of his room.

She ran the thirteen steps of the Toretto staircase, both hands shoving her out of the backdoor and across the street.

She couldn't bear to lift her eyes to see the man stood in the kitchen squirting whipped cream atop cookie dough ice-cream mountain, a towel knotted low in his hips, any other day it would have been a naughty dream come true. Any other day she would have ran _to_ this, not from.

But Letty sprinted, growing further from the man that knew the worst thing she had ever done; violate him.

* * *

Letty looked up to her bedroom door opening, only to find Mia Toretto smiling and with her best friend's mobile in her hand, having safely passed the guard dog of her mother downstairs.

"Your mother keeps trying to feed me." Mia laughed. "She's offered me thirty different things before I could even get to the staircase."

Letty wasn't surprised, her mother had done a food shop to rival any other, intent on hitting this new parenting mode with full speed. "But, I'm sensing good news." Mia wiggled the mobile at Letty. "I found this ignoring my texts and calls in my _brother's_ room." Mia beamed, but noted Letty's attempt at a smile didn't reach her cheeks. "Or… I'm sensing bad news. What happened?"

"Nothing." Letty lied.

Mia was smarter than that though, all it took was to sit next to Letty and peer over at her laptop where it was checking out some website, the corresponding leaflet in her lap.

"You're running again." Mia accused, picking up the leaflet and the ones below that had come through the door for last minute summer jobs. "What did the asshole do?" Mia felt the fire and brimstone towards her brother once more.

"It doesn't matter."

"It does." Mia huffed. "You love him and he's fucked it up all over again." Sister-solidarity came from Mia without pause. "He cheated?" Mia guessed, as was expected from when Dom broke her best friends heart. "I am going to destro-"

"He didn't." Letty corrected.

"Lied?" Mia tried again.

"No."

Dom had done nothing wrong. He'd just given her what she asked for in the only way he thought he could.

"He hit you?" Mia didn't believe it even as it left her lips, but both had fiery tempers, it wasn't entirely out of the realm of possibilities.

"God, no." Letty shook off her mood with the surprise of Mia's guess. "It wasn't his fault."

"It's always his fault." Mia huffed.

"I don't really want to talk about it." Letty closed the shutters on her emotion again.

"Well I don't want to lose you over summer. I've already lost Alex whilst he's paying for another mess Dom made. So you don't get that option."

"I promise I won't go if we don't talk about it." Letty bartered, desperate to hide her shame.

Letty watched Mia play with the emotions that crossed her mind with the contemplation, before finally shoving her hand out for the secret best-friend handshake to seal the deal.

Snared in the final hug of their agreement, Letty faced her deal. Summer with Mia, constantly remembering how she had ruined everything that was good with her and Dom. Avoiding going to the Toretto house to face him. Knowing she would have to hide the way she lost it from Mia. Risking their friendship again.

"Just so you know, I'm still going to hide his keys all summer." Mia voiced.

"You might not be able to." Letty replied. "I was going to text you about this, until I realised I left my phone." Letty pulled back from the hug and passed her a leaflet she had saved to her left.

"Ultimate splash needs you." Mia read from the brochure.

"My mum signed up ages ago for last minute jobs. It sends out newletters and advertisements for places that needs jobs filling on short notice. These all start in the summer holidays."

"So, why would I want to be a lifeguard for Ultimate splash?" Mia wondered aloud, flipping the information whilst Letty brought up the tab on her browser. "Although I get full access to the park and get to stay in a pretty nice hotel, but, it's not exactly what I planned for my summer. Although the pay is quite good."

"You passed your lifesavers award right?"

"Yeah." Mia leaned back in to Letty and looked at the map that had been brought onto screen. "It's in the middle of no-where Letty."

"No… it's 10 minutes walk from Camp Bluebird."

Letty smiled, watching Mia mentally flip out. A squeal preceded the tackling hug that snared her, the laptop saved by a flailing arm.

"Are you serious right now?!" Mia gushed. "I can't believe this!"

"You should apply now, they just need some time to do a security check and proof of qualification and they'll accept you for when summer starts."

"You're coming with me right?" Mia finally sat back, letting Letty re-arrange herself back to sitting.

"I didn't do my lifesaving, besides… I think your freetime would be best spent with Alex." Letty smiled.

"No. I won't go. I can't leave you alone all summer." Mia stubbornly stated.

"You're not."

"I'm not going."

"You are." Letty protested with a laugh. "Besides, my mum has some time off. I can go see my Aunt again. And, considering I ruined what you had with Alex, I want you to go."

"It's not fair if I do go."

"You'll only be there for three weeks of the holidays. You can hang out with me for the rest of the holidays."

"It would mean my dad could go on the summer racing tour too…" Mia mused aloud. "And I could see Alex without Dom or dad hovering over me."

"And earn some decent money, and go around Ultimate Splash for free." Letty added.

"Be honest, 100% honest; are you okay if I go?" Mia asked, master of the big dopey eyes that drown you in emotions.

"I'll help you fill in the application." Letty replied.

"I love you Letty. Only a best friend would be okay with this."

Again, Letty found herself strangled by a desperate hug.


	31. Chapter 31

You guys have been EPIC! The reviews have been flying in and you are so sweet for writing them, thank you.

There are a few differing opinions of how you felt about how it went down and they are all really great to read, I like that everyone seems to pick up on different bits that they liked. Ella is a bit on the fence at the moment overall, some of you like her, some of you don't as much, same with Mia really, haha.

Anyway, since last chapter was a bit of an emotional rollercoaster, I've been swayed by a super sweet reviewer to post this one pretty quickly.

And I would like to say, this is the turning point. Where Letty starts to step out of the teenage self-pitying drama and into being the proud woman that shakes down Dom mid race because she wanted to. I never promised it would be quick journey, and there's still a long way to go, but for me, this is where I see it start to turn. So stick with me, I have a goal.

* * *

 **Chapter Thirty One; Fixer-Upper**

Sunday, her worrisome mind woke her up early. It poked and prodded at her emotions until she was the first one parked outside the Toretto garage. And that was even after she took her car from outside the Toretto house to the beach and back. The drive had moulded her mind over and over until she reached a conclusion she liked; there was no going back.

The ache in her heart and the ache between her legs might grow with every step but what was done was done.

The only way was forward.

To continue down the road she had put herself on.

And that meant working alongside Dom, civilly.

Working alongside Ella, civilly.

Ella was second to arrive, dropped off by a man Letty couldn't name with a grin on her face and a spirited wave from her fingertips.

"Men, honestly." Ella grinned in greeting. "If they weren't so handsome to look at, I don't think we'd ever want them." Ella took up residence next to Letty on her hood, like it wasn't a violation of space. "He couldn't drive for shit." Ella expanded with an eye roll.

Ella had probably spent the night. Probably reigned over another male, dazzling him with her beauty. Even now, she was striking; long tanned legs, crossed at the heels, hair that looked photoshopped and a smile so genuine it broke Letty's hate of her for a few seconds.

Letty was a mess in comparison. A mess with a pain between her legs that flared with every step and pull, reminding her of the disaster that was the night before.

Her virginity was gone, but the muscles weren't letting her forget that.

Neither did they let her forget what she had stolen.

Letty's eyes flickered to the road ahead, the one Dom would be coming down at any moment, keys in hand, bounce in his step, leather jacket hugging him neatly.

Letty turned her eyes away before they could drip emotion.

She wanted to see him.

In the deep tight squeezing pressure over her heart, she wanted to see him step out of his ride with swagger like nothing had happened, like he was the same carefree as usual.

But, in the same way… she wanted to have affected him as much as he affected her.

Torn, she could do nothing but wring out her hands nervously as Ella continued her dissection of whatever adventure she had last night.

As much as she disliked her, Letty couldn't help but admire Ella.

Confident, aware and living life to the full.

It was what she wanted to be.

Nobody knocked Ella out of her groove, she jumped into a new one with a smile.

Being more like Ella could only ever be a good thing.

Ella had it all pieced together.

Letty's revelation cracked with the sound of an engine, her heartbeat kicking up to thunder in her chest, her head feeling light.

But it wasn't Dom's Supra coming onto the lot.

Vince grunted out a syllable that was meant to be a hello and jammed the keys into the lock on the shutters.

"What did we do to deserve your grumpy ass here so early?" Ella teased.

"Dom's got a meeting with the surveyor."

"About what?" Letty asked instantly.

"Sent a report over last night. Something weren't right."

"What wasn't?" Ella continued. A female hounding each of Vince's shoulders for answers.

He stopped short and wriggled out.

"What do I look like? A damn scientist, ask Dom." Vince grumbled and stalked into the garage, away from the female pests.

Ella and Letty shared a look of concern.

One that Letty would decline ever happened if asked.

The answers came later, when she heard the familiar purr of Dom's car pull up.

It came with another.

Audi.

The Audi came with a suit that walked with purpose. Paperwork would no doubt be filled to the brim of the suitcase he carried. Even his shoes were fancier that anything in Letty's closet. He didn't so much as glance over at the garage or the sweaty workers inside.

Dom took the man straight to the new unit. His priority clear; business first.

Letty felt the binds tighten around her heart.

This time not for herself.

Dom had put his spirit into this new building, he'd be crushed if there was a problem.

It was a part of himself finally chipped into the family legacy, something with his name on, legal and real, to stand the test of time. And now, he was hearing it wasn't as strong as thought, not as desirable as it should be.

It was 40 minutes before Dom said goodbye to the man in the suit, walking straight to the office and shutting the door.

It wasn't good news.

Letty wanted to cross the garage, to demand to know what was wrong, to insist she could help him fix it.

But…

Now things had changed.

Ella appeared by her side, fingers dripping, sponge in hand. Her sleeves were up around her arms, hair artfully pulled into a bun as she volunteered for washing duty on the scorcher of a day.

"It's not good?" Ella asked quietly, water droplets crashing to the floor every other second.

Ella might be happy enough to give Dom room and speculate quietly.

But it wasn't the Toretto way, and it wasn't what worked best. It wasn't how the garage operated.

It was no surprise Vince pushed his way into the office the second he saw the Audi leave, the door unintentionally ajar.

Ella and Letty both focussed on that gap, straining to listen.

It took a few seconds of mumbles, but then came Vince, loud and clear.

"You're kidding, right?"

Letty stopped pretending to work.

It was bad.

Even Jesse had halted progress, drawing closer.

"How bad?" Vince's loud grumble returned. A pass of words too far away to hear came before hands slammed to a desk. "Fucking hell. Can we do anything?" Vince demanded.

Ella and Letty watched hands move with the animation of the discussion. It culminated with Vince demanding that Dom show him.

There was a heavy sigh that escaped out, a creak of a chair as Dom rose and left the office.

Dom's eyes found Letty immediately. Large and concerned, they drilled into her. They lingered with anxiety and fear even as she turned away, back to the task at hand.

"Oh dear." Ella voiced. Letty swiped a look to catch Dom grabbing Jesse; he was probably going to rack his brain for a solution to whatever problem was challenging them. "It doesn't look good." Ella narrated pointlessly.

Letty gave a grunt of acknowledgment but Ella's elbows came to rest next to her on the car, water droplets shimmering on her skin like diamonds. "You and Dom good? Seemed a bit tense yesterday. Dom said you're usually pretty lively." Letty froze. "…he's got some serious trouble eyes on him."

"He's got a lot of responsibility." Letty passed off the comments with. Dom was trying to single handedly manage this new development to prove himself as business minded to his father. And it wasn't going according to plan.

"I don't wanna step on any toes, but it looks a bit more than that."

"He's free if you want him." Letty snapped to end the conversation, moving around the car and away from her.

Ella didn't follow, but her words chased after Letty, clear and haunting.

"From what I understand, he already has someone he wants."

Letty just grabbed the wrench she wanted and returned to the car. Thankfully Ella or her words didn't pursue her.

Vince returned a few minutes later, tapping away on his phone.

"What's wrong?" Letty immediately pounced, needing to know, wanting to help. Vince would have no reservations about telling her.

"Place is rotting." Vince nodded his head at the new unit. "S'all gunna fall apart if it doesn't get fixed."

"What's rotting?"

"There's damp or something in the woodwork, all beams are breaking apart." Vince grumbled.

"Can Mr T afford it?" It sounded expensive.

"Not really." Vince nodded at the phone. "Dom's gunna do the big challenge Hector wanted. Race for the crown and cash." Vince grinned widely. "We're calling out to other towns, Hectors got some buddies in another state that want to race as well."

"I thought Dom said it was too much, gunna bring too many problems." Last she heard, he hadn't even wanted to entertain the idea.

"He's got bigger problems now. Got no other choice." Vince smartly replied, turning his attention back to his phone.

They were approaching the final hour of work when things kicked up again. Vince got a million responses back from his mass text, only this one was something else entirely.

"Dom." Vince called, eyes still on his phone, engine still suspended over the car husk, hoist hanging awaiting guidance and instruction.

"What now?" Dom crossed to his best friend once more.

"Zebb's got a deadline of tonight."

Whoever Zebb was and whatever his deadline was, it caused a stress groan to slip out of Dom.

"You've gotta be kidding." Dom turned, rubbing at his temples. "We can miss it."

"He's got about 6." Vince added.

"God damn it." Dom kicked out at the tyres of the Mondeo Vince was repairing. "Alright, Jesse still here?"

"Left early with Ella."

"Fuck sake."

"Take Letty." Vince whispered conspiratorially, just not quiet enough to miss Letty's pricked ears. "She's got small hands, might be useful."

"Right." Dom turned to the young woman covering the oil spill Vince had made with dirty sand from the panic bucket. "Letty, truck, now." Dom called, heading to pull the keys from the office hook. "Lock up if we're not back before." he instructed Vince, seeing thankfully Letty had picked up the tool kit onto the truck bed and was climbing into the cab.

Letty prepared herself for the awkwardness of the ride, not knowing where they were going or what they were going for.

Dom filled the silence with the radio for all of 10 minutes before a pop love song annoyed him.

"You haven't said anything." Dom began, eyes cutting at the way she had shucked off her boots in the heat of the summer, bare feet up onto the dashboard, window down low as she anticipated a long drive.

"Nothing to say." Letty replied, trying to feel half as strong as she wanted to.

"Nothing to say? There's a first." Dom snarked. "Not even going to yell at me about anything?"

"Nothing to yell about."

"Jesus Letty, you gotta talk to me and tell me what happened."

Silence responded back to him, her attention turned to the passing motorists and scenery.

"Letty, ta-"

"Vince said we've got damp in the wood."

"Dry rot." Dom corrected after a few seconds of calming breathing. "It needs replacing and treating."

"You're doing Hector's race idea?"

"Gunna find some stretch of land, turn it into a competition, bring in a decent amount of money for a night's work." Jesse had developed the idea with Hector, it was only Dom's concern holding it back.

"You said it was going to bring trouble."

"And it will."

"But it's worth it?" Letty asked.

"The garage needs to expand to survive."

"So we could get a loan from the bank." Letty proposed, sensibly.

"A bank would have said this was a bad investment, they wouldn't support it." Dom prompted.

"You shouldn't have to do something you don't want to do." Letty voiced, the sentiment burning at her for the double meaning. Dom didn't miss it.

"Neither should you." Dom snapped out. A heavy sigh chased his words. "Letty, you gotta say something. I've got a thousand different ways I royally screwed up last night and I don't know which one to apologise for."

"You didn't do anything wrong." Letty's words wrapped around the nails she started biting.

"You were crying."

"I'm sorry." Dom heard her apology but it sounded like it did the first time she said it, like she was on the edge of breaking.

"You don't need to be…" Dom restarted, knowing it would go nowhere with Letty's current mood. "I didn't expect you to be jumping for joy, but I thought you would have something to say ab-" Dom stopped, lightbulb flashing on. "You didn't hear anything I said did you…"

"When?"

"Before we had sex."

"When you were drowning yourself in corona?" Letty lashed out.

"What?"

"Doesn't matter."

"You think trying to talk to you about feelings is easy sober?"

"If you didn't want to sleep with me you should have just said so. You didn't need to get drunk just so you would touch me."

"Jesus Letty, is that what you think?!"

Silence filled the pause once more. It grew tense. "We need to sit down and talk about what happened, but I'm not doing that now." Dom's gas foot was already getting a little heavy. "Zebb's shift finishes in an hour and we need to be in and out."

Letty didn't ask who Zebb was, she didn't say anything. Just reached for the radio volume and turned it up.

It was as Letty climbed into a scrapped Lexus she realised exactly what Zebb was selling. Zebb worked at the car graveyard, where cars went before they were turned into cubes of scrap metal. Zebb had loose ethics and when he got the paperwork to crush, he called the boys at Torettos and offered them scavenger rights, for a fee. After all, who knew if the cube was a full car or just a car shell.

"Mostly pool cars." Zebb called out to Dom, who was standing outside the jammed Lexus with doors that had been sealed inside and out. Hence why Letty was in head first through the ex-window, her feet sticking out mid-air. "Idiots who let their motors get taken by the cops." Zebb continued, the polish accent soft but present. "This one challenged a cop car to a race. Lost them until it ran itself into a lamppost." Zebb chuckled a short sound. "Sergeant decided to clear his desk of them today, I've got 5 others that are all booked for crushing."

"We appreciate the call."

"Yeah, better someone puts it to use." Zebb agreed. "You'll like the next one. Got a Mercedes used in a robbery. Ends up as a hit and run, almost mows down an old granny crossing the road. Should see the electronic system they had."

"Yeah? Any of it work?" Dom asked, already curious enough to be peering out around the yard for it.

"Not at the moment, but if you're willing to put in the work. Your Jesse gunna appreciate it."

"Anything useful Letty." Dom reminded and parted from her, her feet still out of the window as he left with Zebb.

Letty muttered a few grumbles to the crushed engine for the male brain and rooted around in the glove box to start, then she'd start tearing apart the inner organs of the car.

She'd finished three trips to the truck before Dom called a need for her extra hands.

She found him on the second tier of the car hold, car door swung open, half his body inside, the only free hand reaching blindly for the wrench that had dropped outside.

"Seriously?" Letty huffed as she stood below. "How the hell did you even get up there?" It didn't look what Letty would call 'stable'.

"Climb, you got legs don't ya." he taunted. "I've got a hand under the seat holding it up. Hurry up."

Letty grabbed onto the poles and put a foot on the Chevvy truck that had seen better days. Pushing up, she scrambled onto the second level between the totalled Porsche and the Land Rover Dom was gutting. Every stretch was pulling at her between her legs, where the soreness wasn't yet faded.

"You alright?" Dom asked, concern in his voice. Letty flashed her eyes up to see him watching her, had probably clocked the pained expression as she stretched to find purchase on the holdings.

"Fine." She didn't stop the bitterness from leaking in, scooping up the wrench and extending it out to him.

"You're gunna have to get in here, gotta hold it up whilst you unscrew it."

"What are you even getting?" Letty curiously stepped closer, peering over his shoulder.

"Under." Dom instructed, arching his back.

Letty sighed but dropped to all fours and crawled under Dom's body, small hands aligning with his under the seat, noting the mechanism that held the seat was still in perfect working order.

"Why didn't you take the seat off?"

"Jammed." Dom explained, levering the seat higher so she could manoeuvre the wrench. "Car got rolled down the highway in a poor attempt at a getaway." Dom breathed a laugh against her neck.

Letty adjusted herself further from him, putting trust in his strength of hold and creeping further under the seat itself. "Would you believe he walked away without a scratch on him?" Dom's cologne was clogging up her brain, again.

"There's blood in here." Letty noted.

"Yeah, well Zebb said passenger got shot, before being thrown through the window; seat belts optional." Dom spoke it all blasé, like it didn't bring a ghost of a dead man into the car. Like this wasn't the last thing someone saw before they died. Letty was cold, but not quite as able to isolate things like Dom did. Like most of the guys, Dom saw cars as a bunch of parts to be swapped and replaced, just a collection of items that worked together. Letty saw the car having a spirit, having a mood, having a bond with the driver.

"Great." Letty murmured. "Don't see why you want this so badly though."

"Want the gearbox more, but figured we'd go through the floor instead of underneath. Besides, we can use this." Practical as always, Dom was there with his mechanical mindset.

"Sure, you got a circular saw with you?" Letty mocked.

Dom's body suddenly crowded her, pressed back to front as he stretched to hold the seat higher from her. The car's structure was crushing the metal into the seat, preventing it from being moved without greater effort, but, there was the risk it dropped and caused injury. From the lack of other door, Letty was guessing it was cut out by the fire brigade, unable to be opened except by force.

"You get the Civic and the Subaru?" he asked quietly, his bicep brushing against her forearms with each turn of the wrench.

"Yeah. Stuff's in the truckbed."

"Anything good?"

"Zebb might ask for more money if he sees the haul." Letty commented slyly.

"Hmmmm." But Dom's attention seemed elsewhere. Elsewhere that felt an awful lot like eyes on her body.

She craned her neck back to see his eyes on her ass in the jeans.

An elbow jabbed back, 'slipping' loose from the wrench.

"Oops." Letty spoke, satisfied with the resulting bruise he'd get on his arm and focussing back on task.

"You can stop with the love taps Letty. You can have my undivided attention later."

"Can't wait." Her sarcasm filled the space between them. Dom closed it fast, switching his weight to hold the seat with one hand, the other pulling Letty into him tightly.

"We're going to do the big feelings talk, Letty." Dom's voice seemed to threaten it. "You can't avoid it and yes, you'll be honest and admit your love for me." he chuckled deeply, she felt his chest move against her, earning another elbow to the ribs.


	32. Chapter 32

For my darling readers, another one to keep you fighting through the week! I'll try post the next chapter at the weekend!

* * *

 **Chapter Thirty Two; Sneaky**

With only one week before the summer holiday, school was pushing for all attention, demanding all credit work finished and a neat stack of previous exam papers handed to every student. Letty's free time went into playing catch-up for her missing days at her Aunt's.

The countdown to the holiday ticked off each day with the girls' enthusiasm and hype. The six week breaks brought the summer fayre, Dom's racing tournament and Mia's long awaiting alone time with Alex. Whilst the other students raved about sleeping in and traipsing around the globe with their family and friends, Letty had sealed herself into working at the garage for Mr T during the weekdays.

Letty still wasn't sure where she stood with Dom, they hadn't had the free time to have the dreaded 'talk' but, she couldn't quite bring herself to dream of working anywhere else, and she certainly wasn't going to spend all six weeks doing nothing if Mia wasn't there.

Dom had big plans for the tournament, well, Jesse created the plans and Dom filtered what he could tolerate and what was too risky. It was taking shape and they were already expecting more people than they knew what to do with.

At least that's what Mia said.

Letty turned her phone's backlight on to check the time. It was Friday and the school bell had rung 5 minutes ago and still Mia was not in sight.

There were no races tonight. Hector had cancelled them to build up publicity for the big one. Letty wasn't appreciative, she needed the release of Friday races after spending every other lunch that week in the library.

Letty hadn't even seen Dom all week, she'd had a text though, one that promised he hadn't forgot about their 'talk'.

His engine's purr brought a smile to her face before she could stop it, eyes finding the Supra pulling up to its usual spot.

The ache had gone from between her legs, the memory didn't come back to her every second of the day and she only regretted her impatience and ignorance with him every other hour, so it was an improvement.

He pulled up with the windows down, shades on and firm line where his smile should be.

It spoke volumes.

He wasn't in a good mood.

"I'm not late!" Mia's squealing claim came with the thundering of kitten heels and the girl bounced into Letty, gathering her up with a hug as they slid onto the back seat together. "I'm not late." Mia huffed out, breath panting as she seated herself comfortably.

Letty hoped Dom didn't see the redness of her lips that wasn't lipgloss but a make-out session with Alex.

He just turned his head to shoot a sunglasses glare at his sister then turned back to drive on.

It was a serious mood then.

Even Mia picked up on it, roping Letty in on stories Dom would usually bite to butt his opinion in on, her own way of picking him back up again.

After more than a few failed attempts, Letty's concern was growing, she tapped out a text to Mia, the buzz coming through to girl sat beside her.

Mia's fingers sped quickly over the keyboard and a response came.

 _Dom keeps telling Dad he's gunna get the money for the repairs, but Dad won't believe him, he's meeting with the financial advisor today._

Oh. It explained the mood.

"You want dropping at home?" Dom asked, question directed at Letty.

If Mr T had a meeting with a finance guy, Letty guessed she should give him room. Go home and check the washing hadn't piled up.

"Nope. We're gunna bake cupcakes." Mia beamed proudly, correcting Letty's mental planning. "If you lose the frown, you can maybe have one."

There was a grumpy silence, then the idea of baking must have broken through his mood.

"What flavour?" Dom was instantly on the hunt, no doubt planning the theft of his sister's creations. His sister could bake, and she could bake well. She once made a chocolate orange cake for her Dad's birthday. It didn't survive for longer than an hour after baking. Not even crumbs remained.

"Dunno. Gunna have a look what we got." Mia mused aloud about the mint essence that may or may not be in the cupboards while Dom drove and Letty considered ways to avoid doing any actual baking; she didn't have half the gift Mia did. Letty had a good track record going for non-burned meals, she didn't want to break it.

"Dad liked the raspberry ones best." Dom suddenly spoke, quiet and purposeful, head turned to see his sister in the mirror. The words must have held some significance past what Letty knew as Mia just nodded and agreed to make them. No fight.

Dom dropped them off and walked in with them, a half smile teasing his lips as his sister flourished the conversation with baking ideas she'd seen online. His smile was shot down before it was birthed and he walked right back out the door, the financial advisor sat with Mr T at the dining room table with papers surrounding.

* * *

When Dom returned, it was an hour later. The girls had finished homework and had turned to the creation in the kitchen. Mr T was out in the garage, elbow deep in something that wasn't going to plan guessing from the mumbles and grunts that were heard.

Letty heard the door close and the boots taking heavy steps across the floor. She turned to them, away from the lure of the white chocolate chunks Mia had put in a bowl.

He paused as she turned to him.

There was uncertainty in his eyes, a question, a concern that led to a temptation much greater than the chocolate chips.

Letty turned back to the baking.

Her responsibilities were minimal, just as she liked. Mia was mixing in the bowl, talking to herself as she scrolled up and down a website with shared baking images. She'd been asking Letty's opinion for each one, but the variety of Letty's grunted responses were deemed unsatisfactory.

The feet still hadn't moved.

Letty's ears had focussed so closely on Dom's footsteps, she hadn't heard him move.

She flashed another look over her shoulder and he was still there, leaning against the wall, ankles crossed. There was a warmth to him, a relaxed heat that wasn't there before.

His mood wasn't gone though, that was clear in the tense way he held himself, the way his arms banded over his chest.

Letty hid her eyes away, finding his gaze solely focussed on her.

Mia was uncapping the flavouring, the vanilla essence tickling her nose pleasantly.

Home baking rarely ever scented the Ortiz kitchen.

A quiet tapping repeated and Letty whipped her head to locate it.

Dom, fingers drummed on the wall before cocking up to beckon her.

Letty felt her pulse bloom. Was this the talk?

Was this the make or break?

His fingers coiled again, demanding her, his eyes hard but twisted with a playful edge.

"Back in a sec." Letty passed to Mia, making sure not to disturb the supreme focus of vanilla essence measuring.

She made it across the distance slowly, more controlled than she thought herself possible.

And then Dom swallowed the gap she left, guiding her to him, around the doorway and from his sister's sight.

His touch was welcome and warm, it was breathing life back into her, building her back up strong and stable.

"Double entrance fee. No pink slips." he whispered against her, his lips playing against hers as he spoke, teasing of the kiss that wasn't happening. "Side bets for each race with Hector. We're gunna make a killing." He smiled wide. "You're coming, right?"

Letty nodded, not trusting her voice.

He wanted her there. It wasn't even a question to her, she could read it on his features, on the way his eyes sparked with light.

"Will your Dad wait?" she had to ask. Was it all for nothing?

"Hopefully." His word ghosted around her, filled with concern and prayer. Vulnerability flashed.

Here he was sharing his worry. Like they were equals.

Letty felt the rise on her chest. The bloom of spirit that said they'd be okay again.

She burned with the desire to kiss him.

To feel his lips back on hers again.

To close the little distance.

His hands pulled at her again, turning her with her back to the wall. Then they moved, to grip tight on the back of her thighs and lift her from the floor, caged to him, ankles locking as he held her flush to him.

He took a breath, eyes reading her face and then she finally felt his lips against hers again.

Relief swept her over, balance gone as she clung to Dom and his kiss.

"Letty, you got the chocolate buttons?" Mia's voice interrupted their moment, but Dom's kiss was not something Letty was going to lose. She chased his retreating lips, rising against him for a deeper taste.

"We still need to talk." His tone was serious, his eyes, however, were glimmering with the tease he wanted to continue. "Tonight." he insisted quiet but firm.

His hands guided her legs down the wall from his hips, back to the earth.

"I can't find where you put them." Mia's voice continued from the kitchen, bowls and utensils lifted with an urgent clatter.

Letty took a deep breath to calm herself.

Mia hadn't seen the way her brother had claimed her best friend against the wall.

She didn't see the way their bodies moved against each other.

She definitely didn't witness her brother's knuckles going white as he squeezed Letty's ass.

Thankfully Mia didn't hear the way Letty hushed a desperate plea for more against her brother's lips.

Mia, in her world of sugar, flour and chocolate, absolutely did not know her best friend would be sneaking out of her bedroom in favour of her brother's. Not that she had to hide it. But, Letty didn't know if this was a good talk or a bad one yet, she wanted the wiggle room to not have to explain herself to Mia yet.

When Letty slunk back into the kitchen with red cheeks and a flush to her skin, Mia had chocolate buttons in her hands and was insisting she didn't remember putting them in the muffin tray for safe keeping. Mia was happy to direct Letty to the next job, missing the way Letty was staring longingly to the elder sibling that was grinning widely as he walked backwards up the stairs and away from her.

"My dad signed the forms for the job." Mia announced, ignorant to the passion and heat that had happened mere metres from her. "Says it will just be Dom alone in the house for those 3 weeks though." Dom paused on the steps, obviously having heard his sister.

A wiggled eyebrow came back down to Letty's eyes from him, a sly wink followed and then he was gone.

A blaze of passionate glory in a few seconds of not knowing where they stood anymore than how they felt. It felt good.

"You sure you won't be bored during the holidays?" Mia asked.

"I'll find something to do." …or someone.

* * *

Mia's blissful ignorance ended with Dom's boots crossing the hallway at 9pm, where an anxious Letty was being pinned to her chair and had been for the last hour whilst Mia tried out every hair style she wanted to have for her new job on Letty's hair. He didn't stop and knock, just walked into her bedroom and had two heads spin at him, one with fingers attached that tugged her roots.

"Give me Letty." Dom demanded, an arch to his eyebrow that clearly said his patience had worn thin.

"Really. I thought you two were off again, now you're on?" Mia huffed. "Anyway, she's my friend first you can't have her." And then the Mia intelligence kicked into high gear, the kind that made Letty wonder if she had known all along and this was just another part of her plan. "Of course, if I wanted to, I could happily sacrifice my time with _my_ best friend to spend with her boyfriend, _if_ , the same courtesy was extended to myself."

"You wanna see Alex?" Dom summed with a sigh.

"I want to spend the night."

"And I want a sister that isn't pregnant next week." He grunted. "And what the hell is this?" he waved at the braid that was currently snaking its way around Letty's head.

"I'm trying out hairstyles for my job. My hair needs to be up, but I want it to look nice."

"Why, nobody is going to see you." Dom rolled his eyes. "Your boyfriend is away so he won't be visiting."

"All the more reason for you to let me see him now." It wasn't true, both girls knew the summer holidays would be a plethora of romance for Mia, but Dom didn't know that.

"You're not sleeping over."

"Then Saturday. He wants to take me to crazy golf and I want to go."

"You suck at golf."

"I want to go." Mia stomped a singular foot, the clear sibling stress sign that she was running out of patience. But her hands had come from Letty's hair and the braid was dropping loose. Maybe Letty helped it out a little as Mia's attention was otherwise focussed. It did look a little too complex for an early morning, especially when Mia would just be sitting in a chair all day.

"Fine, Mia, what is the minimum level to keep you happy."

"1 date, unchaperoned." Mia had obviously already considered her brothers argument. "But… you can pick the place." she conceded, seeing his automatic negative response.

Letty pulled the start of the braid free, her hair tumbling back over her shoulders and relieving the tension on her scalp. She saw the way Dom deliberated between his brotherly responsibility and his own wants. Letty watched his eyes light up as he found the answer.

"He comes here."

"What?" Mia exclaimed. Letty was right along with her, what the hell was Dom thinking?!

"Dad cooks, we get to meet him, we say whether he's fit for you or not."

"The la-"

"If he passes criteria, you can have your date. In a well lit, public area with either me or dad driving you to and from."

"Oh my god, you are such an asshole. It's not like he tried to kill me."

"Just your entire future." Dom snarked back.

"Seriously Dom, you think I'm just going to go out and get pregnant at my age?!"

"It doesn't happen with a plan Mi, it happens because you're too ramped up on hormones to be practical."

"So I'll steal some of your condoms then. Satisfied?" Mia knew it was not the way to start any agreement of her seeing Alex, but the look of her brother's face was priceless.

"DOM!" Vince's voice boomed from downstairs, evidently having let himself in. "Horror Roulette's happening again."

The girls watched Dom's plans for that evening sail out of the window as Vince's voice was joined by Leon and Jesse.

"You sleeping over tonight?" Dom turned to ask Letty.

"Was meant to." she replied quickly, eyes moving between the siblings, trying to figure this out.

"Good." Dom pulled open the door and yelled an acknowledgement to his best friend, he then turned back to his sister. "He comes after school for dinner. He behaves, you can have your date." Mia's smile pulled up at the corners. "But you," his finger went to Letty. "are mine tonight."

Letty felt her stomach roar alive with butterflies. Dom was already on the stairs before Mia's squeal registered in her brain. Arms came around her.

"I get my date back!" Mia squealed, bouncing with Letty in her arms.

"Oh, is that Mia?" both girls paused their freak out and celebration at the sound of Ella's voice from downstairs.

"Ella?" Mia asked curiously, sticking her head around her doorframe before beating feet downstairs. Letty found herself stunned. The boys didn't bring women here, except when Dom was showing a new girl his bedroom ceiling. They didn't get any family invite though.

Why was Ella here?

Of course Letty knew why, she was part of the work family.

But, it didn't stop Letty from feeling wounded that it was no longer just the elite circle. Ella had been dragged into their family ties now.

She led herself downstairs, if only to show it didn't bother her; a façade very few people believed when they met her frowning face as Ella had Mia's full attention with pictures of her recent dress purchases on her phone.

"You wanna watch some murder?" Vince offered holding out the corona.

Dom and Leon were already pouring out shots into plastic cups as was the tradition.

Horror roulette was an app the boys had, where each player spun for a horror cliché, they usually watched a few movies and everytime their cliché happened, they drank.

"Yeah." Letty took the corona from him, knowing they wouldn't be letting her have the shots they'd have themselves and Vince spun the wheel for her.

"Everytime someone breaks the law." Vince grinned at her. "Good luck." Smug, he spun for himself, only to get the instruction to drink everytime someone fell over. He needed to luck more himself. "Mia, you playing?" Vince attention turned to the teenage girl gushing over a pink sundress.

"I don't wanna watch a horror, can't we play action roulette?"

"Go hard or go to bed." Dom's voice came from the kitchen, over-ruling her.

"I'll play, but no zombie movies, okay?"

"I'll protect you, you can sit next to me." Ella insisted. "I did karate as a kid, I won't let you die."

"Okay, but I want an easy one." Mia huffed.

"You can share with me." Ella offered, nudging Vince to roll for them.

"Everytime someone suggests to call someone else." Vince read aloud.

"We'll be fine." Ella smiled at Mia, letting her pick the couch furthest from the tv.

Leon ended with drinking everytime someone screamed, Jesse had to drink when the characters were in darkness and Dom was given the luxury of drinking for nudity

The boys lined up their shots on the coffee table, colours of browns mixed with easier greens and purples; the alcohol of the cabinet had been poured. The movie started, it was a jump scare party according to the best review, designed to keep you on the edge of your seat the entire way through.

The edge of Mia's seat must have been spiked because any time the tension music built, she would pre-emptively scream. Needless to say Leon's deal to drink everytime someone screams had gone to include Mia and he was happily sozzled on the couch before the movie was halfway done.

Letty wasn't overly concerned with the plot, she'd finished the first bottle and had been given another, but her attention was on Dom, or more accurately, the way his eyes met hers every so often like they were plotting away. Another Toretto family trait apparently.

"I can't watch anymore." Mia protested when one of the children became possessed and started leaving 'traps' for their parents.

Letty's phone vibrated and she pulled it out, probably from Mia asking her to go to bed early.

The message was as such, but it wasn't from Mia.

It was from Dom.

' _Mia's gunna have nightmares if she watches anymore. Get her to bed and meet me in my room?'_

Letty raised her eyes to Dom. He was more concerned about the way Mia was hiding behind Ella and a cushion.

Letty smiled to herself and pocketed the phone.

"This movie sucks." Letty announced, setting down the newly emptied Corona. "Com'on Mi." Letty stood, striding over Leon's legs and yanking Mia from her seat on the sofa.

Mia wasn't protesting at all, following Letty up the stairs and into pyjamas faster than possible.

"You guys fix things?" Mia asked in the quiet of the bedroom as Letty brushed her hair infront of Mia's mirror. "You and Dom?" she continued when Letty didn't reply.

"I don't know."

"Oh. You seem better though." Mia offered, a yawn following.

"Go to sleep, Mi."

"Promise you won't try to kill me if I get possessed?"

"Promise you won't try to kill me if you get possessed?" Letty turned back to her.

"I promise." Mia smiled over the edge of the top bunk bed. "Are you sleeping in Dom's bed tonight?"

Letty paused her brushing. She didn't know.

"I don't know."

"It's okay if you are." Mia sleepily offered. "He's a good brother sometimes. But he's always better when you're nice to him."

"He's an ass." Letty grumbled.

"Yeah. But he's your ass." Mia, in her slight intoxicated wisdom offered a bite of philosophy before relaxing back on the mattress. "I hope he's nice to Alex."

"He won't be." They both knew that.

"Yeah…" Mia rose up again, leaning over at Letty. "I text him about coming for dinner. He thinks Dom's gunna try to kill him again."

"He might be right." Letty set the brush down and pulled the bobble on her wrist to tie up her locks for sleeping.

"Can you talk to him?" Mia asked, soft and sweet, like she did when she wanted a big favour. "Make sure he isn't too hard on him."

"All he knows about Alex is that you were going to sleep with him. He doesn't exactly have anything positive to go on. Besides, I can't change his mind about anything."

"Yes you can." Mia smiled. "At least let him know he's really good to me."

"Don't think it matters as long as you're still his sister." Letty offered.

"I could get emancipated." Mia's vocabulary was still expansive even when tipsy.

"You sure you're okay if I hang out with your brother?"

"I'll be asleep. I won't care." Mia's smile was shot over the edge before she flopped down to the bedding. "Steal me some condoms though." She laughed and rolled over to get comfy.

"I thought we were trying for Dom to _not_ kill Alex." Letty laughed back before slipping out of the bedroom.

If anyone was about, she was just going to the bathroom.

But otherwise, she was creeping down the hall and into the bedroom belonging to Dominic Toretto.

She shut the door behind her, padding barefoot across the moonlit carpet and onto the bedspread.

His cologne wrapped around her, the memories of their past teased and haunted her memory.

The short pyjama bottoms she wore suddenly seemed wrong. The thin camisole pyjama top was too little too.

It wasn't right.

She felt out of sorts.

Even as she heard Ella's laugh downstairs, she felt the doubt seeds creep into her mind.

Maybe it wasn't the talk she thought it was.

Maybe it was the same talk that ended with her fist on Dom's face.

Maybe he'd call her childish again.

Her circling was stopped by a text to her mobile.

' _Movies just finishing. You in my bed?'_

Letty listened to Ella's laugh again, feeling the jealousy push through her.

' _Leon sleeping on the couch?'_

He wasn't in any state to go home. They rarely were.

There was no text back, no instantaneous reply, so Letty pretended to have supersonic hearing and closed her eyes to pick up the words from downstairs.

She heard a variety of goodbyes to Ella and the door slam shut behind her. And then she heard the silence of the tv before another sound track started.

Movie number two no doubt.

But then came the light flooding in from the Toretto hallway and Letty sat up to see Dom, with a bottle of green liquid stepping into the room, his foot kicking the door closed again.


	33. Chapter 33

It IS the weekend, and, I have been dutifully informed my suspense/cliff hangers is causing undue agony and possibly death (depending on how melodramatic you are feeling, haha).

Here, I offer up 'the talk'. I re-wrote it a few times, and i'm still not 100% happy with it, but i'm settling on this version. Please enjoy, you've waited very patiently for it, and I hope it's what you wanted in some way :)

Also, it's a bit longer than my usual. Not that I think you'd complain ;)

* * *

 **Chapter Thirty Three; Alarm Bells**

"Leon's pretty much paralytic on the couch. He won't be in work tomorrow." Dom narrated. "Vince and Jesse are watching the sequel. Ella has gone home." he updated, crossing over to put his bedside light on, illuminating the body that was perched on the edge of his bed. She looked as she felt; awkward and nervous. "It's just me, Let. It's just a conversation. We've done it before." he teased to lighten the mood. He earned a glare. "Go on, get comfy, because nothing else is happening between you and me until we talk."

Dom heard the hard sigh that left her as he turned to toe off his sneakers. The rustle of the bedding was next and he glimpsed her in his shaving mirror, sat with her back to the wall, legs crossed under the duvet, arms tight against her chest like she would rather be doing anything else.

He felt guilt spin around in his gut, he knew she didn't want to talk about feelings. He knew she liked to push everything down and ignore it. He knew she would rather fly across the surface than dig deep to the roots. Anything to get by.

But that was why they were doing this, he reminded himself.

It wasn't just a skate by anymore. Certainly not for him, and from all educated guess; not for her either.

"Truth or drink." he introduced, meeting the bed with a green liquid in hand. "You answer, or you drink." It was simple and hopefully enough to encourage Letty to open up.

She reached her hand out with questioning eyes and took the bottle, reading the label.

"Apple sourz?" she quizzed with a raised eyebrow. The bottle was already half empty from the game downstairs.

"Don't want you unfit for work tomorrow." he answered smartly and sat himself on the bed as well, the other end, where the bedside light cast him out of darkness.

Letty's fingers were already scratching at the label, eyes anywhere but on him. "You okay?" he had to ask.

She paused and then went to unscrew the bottle cap.

How could she form words for the whirlwind of emotion going through her head? She just wanted to move past this, to play happy families, boyfriend and girlfriend like nothing bad had happened.

Why did he need to bring it back up when she was happy to move past it?

But how could she tell him she was angry at him and the same time she felt such immense guilt about it.

A warm hand pressed down on hers, the body stretching the distance of the bed with judgemental eyes.

"That wasn't a difficult question, Letty." he smiled, softening the words.

"I don't want to have this stupid talk." Letty could feel her inner child rolling on the floor, pounding fists onto the carpet stubbornly believing it could stop what was going to happen the more it protested. "Can't we just pretend it never happened?"

"No." Dom was firm about that, moving himself closer to her, within reach of the bottle she seemed to be clinging to for dear life.

Letty wasn't ever going to be the type to open up first, so Dom took a breath and started. "I was drinking." Letty flashed her eyes up at the speech then cast them back down to the sticky label she was slowly peeling off. "But it wasn't because I didn't want you, or because I had to work myself up to being with you. I w-"

"Do you want Ella?" Letty's question bit into the rationale he had started.

"No." His answer came as fast as her question, but there was no automatic response, it was the word formed and shaped with purpose. Honesty.

"Have you slept with her?"

"No." Again, it was the truth that echoed in his words that urged her to continue.

"Will you?"

"No."

Silence resumed and Dom presumed the quick fire round was over. Letty still clung to her life raft bottle though.

"You were crying. Wh-" But Letty's fingers were already on the cap, taking a quick sip before he could even finish the sentence. Perhaps a direct approach wasn't best. "Was it because I hurt you?" Letty swallowed and paused, slowly shaking her head. It looked like it was going to be 20 questions, but the answer would come out as soon as she put the alcohol to her lips. "When w-"

"Why were you drinking?" Letty interrupted again. It brought Dom some relief, it wasn't all going to be one sided thankfully.

"Dutch courage." he blatantly admitted. "Because I wanted to talk to you before we had sex. And not all of our conversations end without a fist to my face or you running off." He was correct, the track record wasn't great.

"You wanted to sleep with me?" It came out as a check, a need for confirmation that her fears weren't right.

"Yes."

"Do you… still?" She wouldn't meet his eyes and Dom was having difficulty believing she had the courage to bluntly ask. Evidently, she was equally as surprised if the way she blinked down at the bottle was any clue.

"Yes." There was a pinkness to her cheeks, a flush of heat as pride swirled around her. He couldn't help but grin. She had no idea of the power she had over him. "Same question."

Boosted on her high, Letty found the ability to look up, to meet his deep eyes, vibrant with emotion and answer back.

"Yes."

"Then we need to talk about what happened, what went wrong." he justified, sharing the smile. Hers faded as she heard his words. "You said you wouldn't ask for sex again, why?"

Letty clung to her life raft, this time to preserve the humiliation of the truth. She tipped the bottle back. It wasn't a bad taste to say it looked like cartoon poison.

Dom scratched a hand down his stubble, formulating his next approach.

"Okay." he spoke after a few moments. "I like you Letty." The admission stunned her again. It came so freely, spoken to her openly, honestly. Just put out into the world. "I don't just mean in the ' _I just want to have sex with you_ '. I mean, in the 'I **_like_** you' way. And… you don't believe me." He had been reading her reaction throughout, but he hadn't expected disbelief. Then again, his first attempt had been met by blankness before they had sex, back when she wasn't listening to a single thing. Anything rated better than that. He should have known.

Silence from her confirmed his thought, she didn't believe he liked her. "Why don't you believe me?"

"It's not what we agreed." she mumbled, correcting him with hard eyes. She knew the agreement they made, she knew it wasn't involving any feelings on his side.

"When?" he spoke, his brain caught up moments later "Letty that was ages ag-" he paused. "Forget about the agreement, okay?" He reached across the distance for her, but she was all shields up again. "We're making a new one." he decided. "Until you understand how I feel, we're not doing anything."

"What?" Letty felt the blow as if it was physical. This was _not_ what was agreed, this was not what she expected. This was not something she could smooth over.

"Because I know how you feel, Letty. But you need to know you're not the only one who feels it."

Her features pulled tight, an anger bloomed.

Letty felt nothing short of love for Dom. For him to even begin to claim he felt the same was blasphemous on her own feelings.

"You don't love me." she bit out, tasting the anger. How could he possibly claim he felt the same she did?

She had been on his sidelines for months on end, watching him have someone else, watching him want anyone else. She had lived with that ache that had only stupidly bolstered her love for him. And now he had the audacity to say he felt the same, that he had endured the same?

"Why don't I?" he challenged calmly, a little smug if anyone asked Letty.

"Because you don't. I'm just another person until you find the next." Letty could hear the relationship timer ticking down on their romance, she just didn't know how long it had left was all.

"And what if you're not?" he asked, probing her darkest thoughts. "What if you're the last person?"

"I'm not."

"Why aren't you?"

"Stop circling." Letty snapped. Hands rubbing her forehead hard. "I know what we are, and I know what it will be. You don't need to pretend for me." Each word was a knife she had become familiar to jabbing into herself, but she looked up to find the knife had settled into Dom as well this time.

"Tell me why you were crying." he changed topic quickly, her anger bringing the truth.

"Because I thought you didn't want me." Anger and alcohol had the same effect on Letty, it stopped the brain filter than protected her pride. "I thought you wanted Ella and were just doing it because I wanted you to. Because I forced your hand..."

"And that I had to be drunk to want you?" he finished for her, finally knowing exactly where her brain had gone.

"You didn't even text me whilst I was gone." she started unravelling with the emotions.

"I wa-" his explanation didn't make it out before her anger boiled up again.

"I just wanted to be normal for one night, to have what you gave everyone else. And then it was like I was broken or something, like you had to get drunk to be able to sleep with me. Like I was toxic."

"Letty, you're no-"

"You have slept with everybody else you met, and I just wanted you to want me for one night like you wanted them."

"I can't do that, Letty." Dom's voice cut cleanly to her ears over her own rage. "Because I don't feel the same for them as I do for you." Letty heard it negatively. Dom forced it positively, crossing the bedding and hauling her into a hug, shooting his arm over the ones that wanted to fight him. "You're right." His words froze the fight in her, but not the rapid rise and fall of her chest. He kept her tight to him, aware of the tense anger boiling inside, rattling a cage that would break again should he step wrong. "I treated you differently."

He felt the slow steady breath she forced herself to take, the ones the school counsellor used to tell him to take when he felt like ripping apart something. "But those other women, I don't remember their names. I don't remember what they look like. I don't care what they like doing on their days off, or if they have hobbies or family." He felt Letty settle her knees either side of his, release some of her tension to be comfortable as he held her. "I liked you since I met you, Letty. How could I not when you practically threw yourself in front of my ride that night?" he chuckled softly, cracking the anger that remained in her.

"You almost killed me." Letty corrected, voice muffled against his chest.

"But you were the best friend my sister had had a long time." Letty moved with the breath Dom took. She heard what he didn't say, the sacrifices he made for his family, for Mia. "I didn't want you to be another woman I forgot a week later." His grip loosened, if only slightly. Just enough for him to find her eyes. "I don't want to forget you. I don't want to lose you, Letty." Finally, his arms relaxed, the snare swapped for a light hug. Letty stayed chest to chest with him, pressed against his warmth, intoxicated by his cologne, feeling perfectly safe as she remained where she was. Here, pressed against him, it was loving and protected. "You're beautiful Letty, and I have no idea how you have endured loving me this long, but I'm glad you do." His fingers rolled up over her shoulders, to latch onto the top of her arms, fingertips burning skin with the sincerity of his words "I'm not sure I always deserve it, but I'm glad."

Peace rested between them. Unspoken words hung in the balance as they adjusted to the revelations. It wasn't the same footing they had before and it would take some work, but Letty finally felt the swell of happiness expanding. Was this what he wanted to tell her before? Why didn't she just listen before?

"I'm sorry." Letty whispered, pulling back enough to gauge his reaction. "About before. That I didn't listen."

"I'm sorry too. I'm sure that's not how you wanted your first time." His fingers hooked hair back behind her ear.

"I won't cry this time." Letty promised, eyes on his lips. Intent clear.

Letty hadn't done much planning for losing her virginity, all thought had stopped after deciding it would be with Dom. She had told herself it would be perfect, as long as it was him. She couldn't quite fit 'perfect' to the description of what _did_ happen but, she was glad it was Dom.

"Woah, what am I? A sex toy?" he laughed, banding back around her waist to turn them onto the bedding, laying her comfortably as he held himself above.

"It'll be better this time." Letty bartered, hands finding place at his hips, making themselves known.

"I want you." he began, and Letty grinned. "But, the last memory I have of you in this bed ends with you crying." His hands settled hers back down on the bedding, away from temptation. "I poured my _heart_ out that night Letty." His tone was mocking, one that had him thumping a fist to his chest in mock heart break. "And you didn't even listen."

Letty swiped at his dramatic gesture, rolling her eyes. "I just need to get past the memory of you crying, alright?" the seriousness sobered her and she found herself nodding softly. "Besides, I said we weren't doing anything until you believed how I felt about you. And I don't quite think you're there yet."

"So what, this is punishment for not believing?"

"That and not listening to me admit my undying adoration of you." he jested with a laugh, earning an elbow to the ribs.

"You are a violent drinking." he teased, eyes on the bottle of apple sourz that he rolled unforgotten to the end of his bed, thankfully capped.

"So what, you're just for cuddling now?" Letty complained.

"Nah. Doesn't mean we can't do _other things_ , but, we both need a bit of time before we have sex again I think." Letty disagreed, but apparently that was half the problem; thinking she knew how he felt more than he did.

"What kind of other things?" Letty asked, intrigue colouring her with a blush. Doe eyes all innocent as she requested a list of salacious deeds.

"There is something that I have… wanted to do." Dom taunted, his entire demeanour suddenly changing from serious talk to horny racer. His eyes raked down her down. "Cute shorts." He rubbed his fingers on the short hem that sat high on her thigh. "You're gunna have to be quiet though." he whispered. Letty's eyes flashed wide as she once again recalled the others in the abode. It was so easy to get tangled up in Dom, she forgot about everyone else. "Think you can manage that?" His fingers slipped higher, on the band of the sleep bottoms, tugging an inch, then another until they started showing more skin than was decent.

"Yeah." she promised.

"Well, to start, these are going to have to go." Another inch and then Letty was giving a helping hand, panties and shorts down her legs and dropped off her toes. "And this, is a problem." His hands was pushing up over the camisole, bunching it under her arms, exposing her breasts. She stretched and wiggled and it was gone too, naked and laid out under Dom's larger body.

She may have reservations about how deeply Dom felt their connection, but this was familiar territory. This felt like coming home in some ways.

Letty tugged at his shirt but he took hold of her wrists and guided them over her head. "Keep them there, or I'll stop." he threatened with a smile.

Fingers released wrists, trailing over the sensitive skin of her forearms, over the curve of her upper arms, across shoulders and collarbones.

Eyes clashed in want and need, repairing their damaged bond.

He threw her a dirty smile, taking his eyes to her breasts as his fingers joined, rolling over mounds, stirring nipples up and out to him.

He rubbed fingers and thumb of each hand over her nipples until they stood tall and proud, chest raised, offered to him as her back arched into the pleasure.

"Later." he promised darkly, continuing his hands along her ribs, over her flat stomach to the hip bones that jutted out as she laid down.

"Dom." she whispered, a beg for more, for attentions back onto her nipples as they were.

"Hands." he reminded her, pausing all movement as she tried to sit up to see him.

She laid back down with a huff, arms stretched above her head, locking into the edge of the mattress to resist temptation. Dom had dropped from sight, kneeling on the carpet next to the bed.

An involuntary squeal left Letty as his hands grabbed under her thighs and pulled her down the bed so her legs were hanging off, just her torso supported by the bed.

And then his hands locked around her ankles, pulling them over his shoulders as he passed a cheeky wink down her body.

"Do-" Letty's mental protests all dropped as his mouth started kissing her, between her legs.

Her mind was racing, fighting between sensation and worries that bloomed. Sensation won as she screwed her hands into his duvet to keep them there.

"We kinda rushed third base." Dom's breath fanned across her open sex, his fingers parting her for his mouth again, tongue diving inside her. "And you taste fucking fantastic." His chuckle was dark and deep, but his tongue had returned, only to find her clit, flicking fast and sending her back arching to the ceiling again, hips shamelessly trying to grinding against his face.

His moans only encouraged her more, digging her heels into his back to keep him there.

Tongue on her clit, his fingers dove into her sex, spreading her juices in and out.

Letty moaned into her forearm, biting to seal the deeply pleasured sounds that wanted to escape.

It was his tongue spearing into her, between scissoring fingers that she loved best, feeling the coil of pleasure tighten significantly.

"Fuck Dom." Letty breathed, hands breaking rules and grabbing at his head, insisting he didn't stop. He didn't.

There was something about his tongue twitching inside her that that felt intrinsically wrong and dirty, but so fucking good. The tension in her stomach wasn't just an orgasm, it was a 'fuck me, jesus this is good' mind blowing orgasm.

But it was the fingers that pinched her clit, tormenting her hormones with hips riding her tongue that pushed her over the edge.

He ate her throughout, like she was the last meal he'd have, no care for technique or rhythm, just high on her responses as she squealed into his duvet. The way her thighs quivered against his ears, her heels digging into his back as her toes curled.

She rose up to find a smug grin with twinkling heat in his sharp eyes.

In an unladylike move, completely governed by horniness, Letty pushed up from the bed, scrambling and pushing him to land with his back to the floor, a handful of horny girlfriend against him. He chuckled around her lips, catching her hands and the hips that tried to grind against his denim covered erection.

"Please. Now. Just this once." Letty pleaded, hormones ruling her head.

"You're horny." he chuckled. "Breathe, it'll pass." He snared her to him once more. Naked woman laid out against his fully clothed body, trapped by his arms.

Anger flared from being denied what she wanted.

A hand slapped down on her naked ass. She started up through eyelashes with indignation.

It was his smirk that broken through the annoyance. It broke quick and Letty found herself hiding a laugh against his shirt, a deep breath escaping her as self-control relaxed her muscles and shooed the tension from her system.

"That was…" Letty began, but not knowing how to finish.

"Yep." Dom chuckled, "You taste damn good though."

The words brought back the small voice of taboo inside Letty's head and a fire-engine blush spread over her cheeks.

* * *

Letty stirred, sleepily wriggling in Dom's hold. He moved with her, re-curling himself to her. She felt safe, secure and in a way loved. Maybe not to the same extent Dom insisted, but she felt valued.

Letty stretched herself to view the clock before settling back down, being unable to see the digits without fully extracting herself from him, and she just wasn't willing to leave his arms just yet. The curtains hadn't been drawn and night still crept in through the window, so Letty wriggled back into her place as little spoon and closed her eyes.

But then came the noises from downstairs. The click, the clutter, the dropping of something metal.

Letty rolled her eyes.

Idiots downstairs were going to pay for this at the garage tomorrow if this was their version of a midnight snack.

And then Letty zeroed in on the reason she had woken up; the smell of something burning.

"Dom." Panicked, Letty shook Dom's shoulder.

"Shhh." Dom just grunted and held her tighter.

"Somethings burning." she prompted, pushing on his shoulder again. This seemed to wake him enough to open his eyes minutely. It took the scent to registered in his brain before he was awake, rolling out of bed.

His feet hit the carpet and the smoke alarm finally triggered, roaring out its noise into the house.

Letty put her hands over her ears while they adjusted from the silence and followed Dom's feet out of his room.

Dom went downstairs, Letty went to Mia.

Through some miracle, the smoke alarm had penetrated the Toretto sleep and Letty was linking arms with a sleepy pseudo sister.

"What time is it?" Mia asked, rubbing at her eyes as Letty led her down the stairs safely.

"No idea."

"It's fine. It's fine." Leon's voice was unnecessarily loud. "It's just toast."

"Jesus Christ, Leon. Some people are trying to fucking sleep." Vince's voice had joined in.

Mia and Letty came into the kitchen together to see the pandemonium. Leon was only wearing his boxers and being steered away from the toaster by Dom. Vince was too busy shouting to pay notice and Jesse was making attempts to get the tatters of burnt toast from the toaster.

"Windows." Mia stated and both girls went to opening the windows in the house, trying to move the smell of smoke and disarm the smoke alarm.

"I just wanted some toast." Leon muttered, quiet and dejected.

"Jesse." Dom turned to the mechanic fighting with the toaster. "Think you can get him something to eat?"

"Sure thing." Jesse let out a yawn but took the bread out along with the cold cuts of ham. It wasn't toast but it would satisfy the still drunk male with a hunger craving.

"The button stuck. I didn't mean to." Leon continued. "I didn't mean to wake everyone." He dropped his head into his hands.

"The button fucking stuck, seriously?" Vince grunted. He was never a happy bunny when he hadn't slept enough. "Can we silence this fucking thing?!" he shouted over the call of the alarm on the ceiling.

"Waft this, instead of your big mouth." Mia shoved a tea towel into Vince's hands, and the complaint went away.

Letty knew why, Mia was only wearing her sleep shorts and an old tshirt that showed her curves when she stretched up or down. Mia pulled open the fridge and poured the fresh orange into a plastic beaker they kept for picnics. The non-breakable ones that were drunk-proof.

It went into Leon's hands and he was given the instruction to drink.

He finished it down and was instantly refilled with another.

When he finished that, Mia sat the beaker with water next to him and the sandwich Jesse passed across.

"Now do you see why Horror roulette is a crappy idea?" Mia hissed at Vince as he uselessly waved the tea towel around in front of the smoke detector.

"Not my fault. He got a ba-"

"It _is_ your fault. And it's going to be your fault when he spends all night puking and can't work." Mia continued, finger jabbing at Vince's chest, no idea how it made her braless chest bounce with each jab. She didn't see how Vince's eyes dropped to them, bottom jaw dropping with clear interest, blatantly not even trying to hide it. Mia might not have seen it.

Dom did though.

"Outside." Dom grunted, shoving Vince off balance and dragging him out the door and into the garden, the door left open for more fresh air.

"Idiots." Mia grumbled and sat herself next to Leon. "Vitamin C is good, it helps the hangover, and the water will stop your dehydrated brain from thumping all morning. So drink." She rested a hand on his back in comfort as he chewed on his sandwich and leant against her.

"Swear, was the toaster." he spoke after finishing his bite.

"I know." Mia offered a sad one armed embrace. "We were gunna get another but we didn't use it that much." They were more of a cereal or bacon family.

"I didn't mean to wake you up."

"S'alright buddy." Jesse patted his best friend on the head before heading back to the sofa now the siren had stopped.

Letty pulled open the extractor fan above the hob to try and aid the removal of the smell, but her eyes went to the window overlooking the garden, where Dom was grilling Vince again.

"Can't they choose another time for a domestic?" Mia's voice came over her shoulder and she sleepily rested her chin on Letty's shoulder as they watched.

"Apparently not." Letty answered back. Of course Mia didn't know it was about her.

"Did you mention about Alex?"

"No, sorry. Forgot."

"You guys sort things out?" she asked, a yawn slipping from her.

"Think so." Letty turned around for listening ears, but Jesse was back on the sofa out of earshot and Leon was too drunk to understand anything more than the taste of his sandwich. "He said he likes me."

"Of course he does."

"No. Like _likes_ me."

"Yeah, duh."

"You believe him?" Letty asked quietly.

"I think you'd be gone if he didn't." Mia expressed honestly.

Mia might believe it, but Letty had a thousand 'yeah but's in mind. Like what if he felt he couldn't get rid of her because of how embedded in his life she was. What if he didn't want to deal with the consequences? What if he was waiting for her to get bored first? What if he'd use his inevitable cheating to split them? Dom didn't feel for anyone except family in the way he was suggesting.

"You okay there, Leon?" Mia asked, noting the sandwich gone. The water drank down.

Leon nodded, features sad with the mess he'd caused.

"'m sorry."

"Not your fault." Mia reassured him. "Go back to sleep. I'll make you bacon in the morning." Mia promised and Leon followed her finger to the living room where he claimed the same sofa as Jesse, toe to tail. Nobody dared share with Vince, he would rather kick you out on your ass than contemplate sharing. "Night Letty." Mia took herself back upstairs to sleep as Letty got herself a glass of water, eyes on the boys outside.

Vince's defence fell short and Dom finished chastising him.

Both boys stormed back inside to the kitchen.

"Go back to bed, Letty. I'll clean up." Dom spoke.

Letty finished her glass and set it by the sink, heading back to his bedroom.

3am the clock greeted.

Letty grumbled unintelligible nonsense at it and tried to find her comfy position in Dom's bed. He'd be up soon.

Barely a minute later, Dom came back in, murder on his face.

"He needs to fucking stop." Dom grunted out, easily sliding into bed and wrapping Letty into his arms again.

"Mia won't ever go with him." Letty offered as lame comfort.

"Yeah. I know." Dom scrubbed a hand down his face. "Doesn't mean I have to watch him staring at her."

"What did you say to him?" Letty asked in the darkness.

"Told him to stick his dick in anyone else and forget she exists." Dom answered honestly.

"I'm sure Mia would have said the same thing. You have nothing to worry about." Letty laughed softly, pulling Dom's arm from stressing his features and to wrap around her. It snuggled under her breasts and pulled her close, his lips pressing once to her neck.

"You okay?"

"Just tired." And then Letty remembered her promise to Mia. She rolled in Dom's arms, turning face to face. "Are you gunna say the same to Alex?"

"Mia wants me to be nice to him, doesn't she?" he guessed.

"Mia wants to not have to hide her relationship. But even if you tell him you'll kill him, he likes her enough that he'll risk it. And she'll keep lying to you about it."

"He doesn't deserve her." Dom grumbled, huffing out a breath.

"Nobody ever will. But, he is good to her."

"Yeah? Good enough to want to fuck her?" he sarcastically rolled his eyes.

"Good enough to say he'd wait as long as she needed to want to do anything."

"I think I made the same promise as a teenager, I knew what my motives were, and I know his too." Dom protested.

"Mia likes him. A lot."

"Doesn't change anything. Go to sleep." Dom shut down the conversation, but Letty had one last bargaining tool.

"You do realise, if you forbid Mia from seeing him. She'll find someone else. Someone from the races. Older, more demanding, tattooed, ex-convict, giant dick waiting to rip her in two and give her a life of three children and a daddy out on bail. If he decided to stick around." Letty taunted.

"Why are you putting these images in my head?" he chuckled.

"Alex is polite, he's sweet, he cares for her. More than for himself." Letty continued. "And, he agreed with you. About Mia going to the races after the whole… dress thing…"

"Oh, yeah mean when you two almost got raped?" Dom bit it out without care.

"We didn't. We were perfectly fine." Letty argued quietly, shoving at his shoulder again.

"I'm so glad the guy Mia's dating didn't approve of her being raped. He sounds stellar." Dom replied sarcastically. "Go to sleep." He ran his hand over her face to make her close her eyes. She did, but they popped right back open.

"Fine, so you'll never like him. But you should at least let him finish his food before you threaten to cut off his penis. Again." Letty bargained.

"He's not getting dessert." Dom stated as way of agreement.

"That's all I'm asking. A fair chance."

"Uh-huh. Now will you let me go back to sleep?"

Letty nodded, rolling back over to let him spoon her, as he liked.

* * *

Vince turned over on the sofa, the smell of burnt toast only just fading in the breeze. But something bothered him. It bothered him a lot. Like an itch on a scab, he couldn't stop picking until an idea fit. One he didn't quite like. One that seemed ludicrous.

But the question remained; Why did Letty go past Mia's bedroom when she went to bed?


	34. Chapter 34

Thanks guys. You were all really supportive. Honestly, if I waited until I felt secure with every chapter, you guys still wouldn't have read the first chapter, never mind getting to number thirty four! So, I guess it's good to take a chance, even when i'm not 100% happy with it. Your comments have certainly made it worth it. Thank you.

Yes, Mr T, a reviewer asked where this beautiful father figure was during the pandemonium of last chapter. At present, weekends are when Mr T goes to the racing circuit. Mostly because it helps move the plot forward and enables sexy-time. I am not encouraging single parents to leave their children at home all weekend, even if one is old enough to be a responsible adult. It is purely a plot device. I shall say no more.

* * *

 **Chapter Thirty Four; Backing**

Saturday was a flurry of activity. Leon wasn't fit for work and had taken the day to sleep on his couch after sobering enough to drive home around 11. Which meant work was at double pace.

Mr T had called Dom, a nosey neighbour had called his mobile asking if they had a fire last night. After a quick summary of event and drunken cooking, Mr T was even more decided upon returning that evening instead of staying for Sunday as well. He'd spoken to a friend at the track who had had damp in his home last year. Mr T had repeated the amount of money his friend had lost repairing it and was starting to look at the expansion with more worry than expected. Mr T hadn't said as much but Dom expected his father's return to come with a lot of panic as he stopped all the balls that were rolling. It hadn't put Dom in the best of moods, but work kept him too busy to complain.

Despite having all hands on deck at double pace, they guys still found time to socialise, even if it was with hands inside a cars organs.

"Leon says you lost the bet." Jesse read from his phone, knelt by the tyres on the Audi that had seen better days. The tread on the tyres was pretty much gone.

Since Dom had been outed with a girlfriend, the boys had took it upon themselves to predict the length of the relationship. Vince had bet low. Leon had gone high. Jesse refrained, deciding they needed to meet her before they could make such a judgement call.

Vince's low ball idea of a month was coming to an end today.

"I've still got a few hours." Vince protested, rummaging through the rolling toolbox once again. Someone kept messing up the wrenches, on purpose he'd guess. How was he meant to find anything in this mess?

"Yeah. Don't think it's gunna happen."

"I know Dom." Vince boldly stated. "All it's gunna take is a nice pair of tits on long legs and he'll be forgetting about his stupid girlfriend."

"Guess you're gunna find out." Jesse nudged his brother-in-grease and nodded to the caramel skinned beauty that had just walked in. Black hair hung over one shoulder in a plait, pink mini skirt showcased legs in lacey pumps that decorated up her bare legs. Add that to the melons smuggled in her crop trop and she was drop dead gorgeous, and she was walking up to Dom's Supra, fingers trailing along the bodywork. Naturally, Dom noticed.

"Can I help you?" Dom grunted out, only slightly annoyed for the break in his work. An audience of eyes from his staff tuned in.

"You must be Toretto." The woman let her hands fall from the car.

"The one and only." Dom answered, cocky as ever. Mood lifting with her full body stepping into his view no doubt. Vince nudged Jesse and grinned.

"Hey, what we looking at?" Letty trailed over, drawn by the attention the boys were paying to something that wasn't a motor.

"Dom breaking up with his girlfriend." Vince sneered smugly.

"What?" Letty peered around the column the boys non-surreptitiously leant against. The eyes all turned back to the beauty that was sizing up Dom like she was setting bait to a trap he was only all too happy to fall into.

"You're quite a legend." The woman spoke, making sure there was no way he could miss an inch of her as she turned around the car slowly. "Hear you've got a car to die for. And a driving hand that can show me a good time."

"Really?" Dom answered with a smile.

"M'hmmm." she agreed, biting on her lip and stepping closer to him. Not touching, yet. "Fancy showing me around this baby?" she nodded to his car. "Engines always get me hot." she purred at him.

Letty's fists tightened, hearing the words she spoke, the charms she was laying on far too thick, the way Dom's eyes were not bothering to try and look away from her chest.

But it was the way Vince rubbed his hands together, grinning widely and hooting whoops of encouragement.

"Where you from?" Dom asked, his voice deep again. Like it was when he was whispering dirty things to Letty.

"Not far." she coyly replied, batting her eyelashes, carefully stretching out a hand to her hip, ensuring his gaze followed the line of her taught stomach and the flare of her perfectly sized hips.

"We've got work to do." Letty grunted out, turning back from the scene and a dark mood suddenly driving her with hard footsteps back to her list of cars. All his words yesterday now tasted sour.

Vince worked up half a comment about the youngest employee's jealousy before he saw the white knuckled fists she had coiled and ready to damage someone. Most likely him. He swallowed his comedy and turned back to the scene.

"Really?" Dom was flirting back, his shoulders square, eyes raking over her, typical interested sequences for classic Dom seduction. Vince had witnessed it a thousand time. "You like engines huh?"

"Love them. In fact, show me yours… and you can see anything of mine you want." she purred, melting Vince's resistance and drawing a groan from her spectator. Not that she cared.

"Hope you're not like this at the races next week, or you'll be walking bow legged."

Dom called her out, her desperation to see his engine stank of competition.

Outed, all pretence dropped.

"Just wanna know what I'm up against. Ain't a cheap buy-in." The woman dropped the seduction routine.

"What you driving with?" Dom asked with a chuckle.

Jesse and Vince dropped their jaw as she the babe in heels suddenly turned from racer-chaser into racer, listing her specs like a pro. A pro on a serious budget with a few alterations that were shortcuts to avoid paying out for better. But she knew what she was doing.

"She's a goddess." Jesse whispered, listening to her sing in his language.

"You can handle it well?" Dom asked her after she finished.

"As long as the car holds together, I've got the skills to get it across the line."

"In first place?"

"90% of the time." she replied back, honesty biting at her as she admitted the truth.

"If you're as good as you think you are you'll make your entry fee back in at least triple. But don't waste your money to race me."

"You don't think I could beat you?" Rising to a challenge she rounded to stand infront of Dom.

"I think you'd rip your car to pieces to try, and I think you'd lose more than you'd win if you risked it." Dom offered. "You can make more than you'll need without challenging my stakes. Don't get greedy."

"It's not greed." she protested.

It was then Dom noted the stitching in the mini skirt where something had ripped it, the bra strap that was too well worn to be comfortable, the scuffs on the heels. Second hand perhaps.

"Alright." Dom took a second to think, the woman wanted to prove herself, she had the knowledge, she even had to guts to seduce him to find out what gear he was running with. She had gusto. "You get a look under any other racers hoods?" ashamed of what she had to do, she just nodded. "You remember their stuff?"

"Yeah."

"When you get to the races, have a chat with my man Hector, if you got some information to help him make some odds, you can have free entry."

"Really?" she asked, smile grinning over her face. "You mean it."

"I'll let him know the deal, as long as you can provide, you're in free." Dom held out a hand, she shook it eagerly, signing herself to the deal.

"I appreciate this."

Letty breathed a sigh of relief, ears and eyes pinned to the conversation even after she walked away. Was it a close call? Or was it all part of the game? Was he sincere about his feelings? Or did his claim for feelings not imply monogamy also?

Letty turned from the scene, the woman walking off the lot. Letty felt the smile the woman wore was stolen, surely Dom should be pulling strings for Letty, not some random bimbo that was circling around the wrong side of her temper.

But then came Dom's eyes, cutting across the distance, seeking her out, drilling into her heart. The heat was unbearable, she turned her eyes away.

Just for a second, she dared to look back, just to see if the intensity was as much as she thought.

It was, his eyes were still there, burrowing into her system. Starting a fire that had nothing to do with lust this time. A smile on his lips, a sigh of relief escaping him. He passed a smirk and a nod her way, a sign for 'told you so' surely, before turning back to his work.

Letty focussed back on re-calibrating the steering for the Vauxhall feeling like she was stood in a live minefield, but, she'd dodged a bullet.

* * *

Mia was over in a huff at lunch, complaining her father was returning that night instead of mid Sunday, blaming Dom entirely. She had wanted to manipulate Dom into letting her go to see the latest in the Summer movie sequel 'Pink Violets in Summer', it was a twisted teenage love affair story, built on mystery, drama and relatable characters. If you asked Mia.

If you asked Letty, nobody gave a shit if the main character liked love crush one or two, it didn't matter.

But Mia had heard her friends had seen it and she didn't want to miss out on the gossip on Monday. Besides, the review were good, apparently.

"They say Tory's ex comes back!" Mia gushed as she sat on the wall with Letty. Burgers digested happily. "And Tyler Hunt, you know, the guys that plays Adam, well, he's buffed up for the role. He's meant to be back from Military School for the summer. Anyway, I read online there's at least this shirtless scene for him and I think he's going to end up with Tory again. It's pretty much writing itself at this point. But, I mean, he's been gone for a year after he set Winston's on fire. Tory can't just forgive him for that. I mean she almost _died_." Mia rolled her eyes. "Although he did save her from the rapids, so, that evens out, right?" Mia managed a second of contemplation before her mind was a speeding ahead again, mouth chasing to keep up. "But it's gone up to a 15 now. I think they'll be a sex scene you know. If Tory's ex is back, Adams back and she's currently with Robbie, I think she'll do it." Mia's eyes came across the courtyard quickly, before settling back on Letty. "I think I'll do it in the holidays with Alex, Letty." Conversation had taken a 180 turn and Letty almost chocked on the can of coke she was guzzling, setting it aside and swiping her hand across her mouth for the dribbles.

"Seriously?" Letty asked. "You still want to?"

"I'm ready. I love him Letty. I may never find out what it's like beforehand, but he feels the same about me. What if I never feel this way again? What if I never love anyone or _am_ loved by anyone like I am now? What if it's forever, Letty?" Mia pulled out her big dreaming eyes, the ones that sparkled at the idea of a picket fence and shimmered with hope for a day in a white dress. But they snagged on Letty's guilt.

She had made Mia a promise.

"Remember how we said we'd tell each other when we lost it, and what it was like?" Letty's voice was whisper quiet, her eyes ensuring there was no Dom ears around.

"Oh. My. God." Mia twigged on easily. "You have?" Letty nodded slowly. "Last night?!"

"No." Letty pulled a face at the accusation, although it hadn't been her idea to not. "Before."

"And?"

"It could have been better."

"Oh god." Mia sunk her head into her hands, before raising and peaking through her fingers. "Did it hurt?"

Not as much as the emotional pain, Letty thought.

"A bit. Nothing really bad though."

"… it was when you were upset wasn't it." Mia guessed correctly. "When you left your phone at our house." she expanded. "I asked you if my brother did an-"

"It was a misunderstanding." Letty interrupted before she could ruin Mia's support for her relationship. "It's all okay."

"It didn't hurt the second time though, right?" Mia asked, curious as ever.

"I don't know." The truth brought a blush to Letty's cheeks.

"Oh." Mia vocalised, turning her eyes down to her fingers as she picked at old nail polish. "He really likes you doesn't he?"

"What?"

"My brother. It's serious between you two." Mia tied their relationship with a serious bow, same as her brother believed it to be. "I figured as much." Before Letty could correct her best friend, she was already a mile away. "He said so when my dad grilled him, but I… I don't know. Maybe I thought he was just dramatizing for my dad." Mia smiled. "He loves you."

"Dom loves cars." Letty protested, the l-word kicking her in the gut. Dom would never love her, not in the way she wanted. Not in the way she dreamed about at night. Certainly not in the way she liked to fantasise about. "He doesn't understand the word."

"Maybe not, but he does understand family and he knows it doesn't stop with blood. You're already family Letty, but now, you're not the second little sister he never asked for, you're the partner." Mia gushed with a wide smile. Letty let the words flow straight through her, there was no evidence other than word of mouth to support them.

"He doesn't love me Mia. He just likes me enough to not lose interest yet."

"I know my brother, from the selfish asshole, the slutty idiot, the hardheaded, stubborn, half-brained, skirt-chasing miscreant that thinks he's god's gift to women, and everything else I hate about him. But, he's never, ever spoken about a woman like he spoke about you. And it's not like he'd keep it in his pants for anyone else. He'd just, dick and dash, he wouldn't care to get to know them, or date them, or cuddle them all night." Mia pulled a lovey-dovey face, a baby voice covering the last words as she mocked her best friend and future sister-in-law. "You guys will have the oddest wedding, ever!"

"Quit it Mi." Letty elbowed her, feeling none of the joy. "He doesn't see me like that."

"My brother doesn't lie. Ever. He bends the truth a lot but he doesn't lie. So why would he do all of this stuff, and say how he feels if it wasn't true to him."

Letty didn't debate that it was true to him. She just challenged that the him that it was true to wouldn't be around long enough to be proven a liar.

Mia knew her brother through a relationship only siblings could survive, but Letty had studied him since she knew him, reading into every small thing in the way a sister would not.

* * *

Mia returned home to a new toaster on the doorstep with a big box and an apology note from Leon and a brother with a racing tournament to further plan spreading out on the kitchen table.

Her dad was expected back in an hour, but there was just something she needed to clarify real quick before they lost privacy.

Mia pulled out a chair at the dining table and put her arms crossed on the table, waiting for Dom's attention. It came with a raised eyebrow questioning her presence.

"You have two options." she began.

Dom sat back a smile on his smug face like a 'this should be good' mockery. "You can stay with Letty for the rest of eternity and love her until you go senile enough to mistake the clutch for the brake and kill yourself." Dom laughed softly but leaned into his sister's topic with full attention. "Or, you end it now, before she gets too emotionally invested for me to pick up the pieces you will make."

"You have two options." he mirrored. "You can finish your relationship with Alex now before I have to kill him for either breaking your heart or not being good enough. Or, you can swear to save yourself until you're married."

"I'm not living in the 1960's."

"And my relationship with Letty isn't for family discussion. Go away."

"It is for family discussion. Because she was my friend before you decided to finally realise she liked you. And it will be my friend that is crushed by your reverting back to your asshole ways. And it will be my friend that won't come around anymore when you break her heart. So this does affect your family, because it affects me. And it affects Dad too, because he'd lose an employee!" Mia felt her Toretto temper flare up. "And it affects mom." Mia spoke, voice wavering slightly with the memory, eyes burning with the threat of tears. "Because you promised you would be a good man. That you wouldn't lie or hurt anybody. That you'd care for your family. And if you break Letty, you break every one of the things you promised mom you wouldn't do." Mia felt the red hot tear slide down her cheek. The date was quickly approaching for her anniversary of the day she was taken away. It always brought her memory to the front of her mind. "So if you can't keep your promise, you need to end it now."

Mia heard Dom's chair scrape back against the flooring as he stood. She lifted her teary eyes but they were filled with the broad chest of her brother as he pulled her into a hug.

"I promise." he spoke shortly, voice gruff and hard. Like her dad's did when Mia asked anything difficult about mom.

* * *

Music was blasting from the speakers, Ella was attempting to teach Mia what little she knew of foxtrot steps to a rock song that didn't ever belong to formal dance. Leon, having recovered from the hangover was arguing with Vince in deep speculation over which racer chaser it was Dom was keeping as a secret girlfriend.

But Letty was focussing on Mr T's face through the open office door. It was heavy with stress and concern. It mirrored the one she knew for Dom before shit usually hit the fan.

Letty looked up at heavy boots and turned to see the exact expression she had be thinking of on Dom as he crossed through the garage, mobile in hand.

He hung around the door to the office.

"TJ said he got told we're not hiring." Dom accused straight off the bat, anger rising directed at his father.

"And we're not." Mr T replied, not lifting his head from his paperwork.

"He's a good mechanic."

"We can't expand Dom. It's a good idea, but not financially possible." The workshop may have been busy, but it seemed everybody heard and froze for the news.

"It is." Dom protested.

Mr T stopped and noting the work halted he stepped out of the office to address all of them (bar Jesse who had the day off), they'd only listen in anyway and they had a right to know, it affected them too.

"We have damp in the walls, floors and ceiling of the new building. It's not too far developed, but we'd only a get a year use before it would be an immediate concern for it falling apart. The survey for the replacing of the beams that are damaged estimate repairs at far too much than what we have set aside for this."

"We'll chip in." Leon was quick to offer. Vince nodding along.

"That's very nice of you to offer b-"

"Dad, I can afford this." Dom insisted quietly, though all knew how.

"No Son, you can't."

"I c-"

"Son, where would I tell the bank the money is coming from?" Mr T challenged. "Last thing we need is anyone looking into where you get your money. It needs to be above board, it needs to be auditable and it needs to be _legal_." Mr T spoke the last word slowly, re-iterating just how much he knew about his son's habits. Letty found herself smiling at it. Of course Mr T knew.

"Then we'll sav-"

"Listen, it was a good plan, a good dream, but, the work was greater than we expected. Our best option is to put in some hours and patch it up enough that some other investor will be willing to put some money into it."

"This is ridiculous." Dom grunted out.

"This is not your fault, son." A fatherly hand settled on his shoulder, a comfort for the guilt he would no doubt feel at failing his family's shared dream. He should have done more research before diving in feet first. "We just need to accept we can't fix this problem."

"I think I can." Mia's voice tumbled into the private conversation with a big smile.

"Mia, this has nothing to do with you." Dom snapped.

"Hey!" she snipped. "I'm just about to save your dream and you're going to choose now to be an asshole?"

"There's nothing you can do that I can't." Dom swore.

"Can too." Mia huffed sticking out her tongue.

"Guys, what is going on?" Sonia's voice followed her heeled steps into the garage, the noise drawing her in. Nobody paid her any attention though.

"Mia can save the garage?" Leon asked Vince, only half listening as he was texting the update to Jesse.

"She hasn't saved anything." Dom barked out.

"Mia, it's sweet you want to help, but this is something w-" Mr T's voice of reason only rubbed her the wrong way.

"Why does nobody take me seriously?!" Mia huffed, arms crossed on her chest.

"Look, we don't mind lending some money, Mr T." Leon tried again, re-routing the conversation away from the family domestic. Or at least trying to.

"Leon, yo-" But Mr T was cut off again by Mia's protests about not being listened to.

"What's Mia idea?" Vince asked Leon, hoping his daydreaming hadn't missed too much.

"Dunno." Leon shrugged.

"Because nobody is listening to me!" Mia exclaimed.

"That's because it's probably not even viable, Mi." Dom snapped over the noise.

"It could be alright." Vince defended. "We should at least hear her out."

"Jesus Vince, take a break from it." Dom barked, hearing only the man pointlessly chasing his sister's affection.

"Really Dom, you're going to shoot down the only person who actually thinks I might have more braincells than eyeshadows." Mia hissed.

"Yeah, you know why he thinks that?!" Dom challenged his baby sister.

"Dom, take a step back." Mr T put a hand to his son's chest, trying to stop the headache his children were causing.

"I'll step back when Vince does." Dom protested, his eyes glaring at the man he used to call brother.

"Step back from what?" Leon asked, lost in all the different arguments.

"Oh com'on Leon, everybody knows." Mia scoffed, bringing a pause to the chatter.

"Everybody knows what?" Vince asked naively, a redness creeping up his cheeks. He didn't think Mia knew.

"Irregardless." Mr T began tightly, causing Vince to step back. Yup; _everybody_ knew. "We can't afford the repairs needed for the expansion. We don't have the room to take on any more business or new staff. We are going to have to review extending our hours to manage demands."

"No, we don't." Mia protested, stamping a foot.

"Mia, I understa-" Mia pushed past the group and jumped lithely onto the hood of the audi, walking onto its roof. "Mia, co-"

"This, is your stupid solution. You're welcome!" Mia shouted, both arms flung out towards where Sonia was standing with arms crossed, patiently leaning on the pillar like nothing was happening.

The garage went silent and eyes turned to the woman in bright colours looking out of place amid the grease and broken vehicles.

"Good business for you, means good business for the café." Sonia started. "People stop for a drink or bite to eat whilst you fix their cars. Whilst you guys have been slammed these last few weeks, I've done more business in those weeks than I did in the first six months of starting this café."

"Financial backing?" Mr T guessed.

"Not exactly what I had in mind." Sonia smiled slowly. "A partnership." she suggested instead.

"If you're doing this because of my dau-"

"No." Sonia cut off Mr T's worry. "I was actually thinking of buying the land myself." she confessed. "I'm running out of seats. A courtyard with seating would be beneficial, people would stay longer, buy more. You guys have the land. From the design concept Jesse drew, I think we could come to an easy agreement about giving me a chunk of it for some seating."

"There's a lot of damage, it isn't a cheap fix." Mr T stated, clear and honest before any deals were made.

"Hmmm, so I hear. But I think we can come to some arrangement." Sonia waved a hand into Mr T's office in an invitation to sort out the details.

Mr T smiled, making a point to shut the door on the nosey children.

"You owe me." Mia's voice carried as she dropped to her ass and slid off the car. "Big style." she continued, heading back to the café with as much sass as her hip swings could muster.


	35. Chapter 35

Holy Moley guys, you all are very appreciative of my writing style. I know I can get a bit long-winded in places but you don't seem to mind.

I absolutely love to write, so thank you for being willing to read. As much as I would love a career where I spent my day creating plots for imaginary characters, my realistic-side mentions the bills that need to be paid and the struggles of becoming a professional writer. Besides, I like playing with other people's toys too much haha.

I'm sure everybody has got some part of their life that can relate to the topics in this chapter and for that, I am sorry. I don't personally see it as triggering so much that it needs a warning, but just to cover all bases, the chapter title is 'Loss' and, oh, no, it's not Mr T dying, don't think like that. I love Mr T! But, just, if you find the topic too sensitive at the moment, skip to halfway down for some super cute Dotty moments, via Mrs Ortiz.

* * *

 **Chapter Thirty Five; Loss**

It happened on the Wednesday. Precisely two days before school finished, before the tournament races Dom hadn't cancelled and before the end of school fayre.

Letty had text Dom in the morning, as was becoming a pattern, but what broke pattern was that she had no reply. It wasn't even showing he had read the message. Mia had been in the library all lunch as well so she couldn't grill her.

By the time Letty was back home, she was convinced something was wrong.

She had sent a desperate total of twelve messages since she woke up but her last message from him was still yesterday before she went to sleep. And that was to salaciously tell her to dream of him. She didn't but she wished she had, it might have given her more insight.

She always pushed his buttons, but nothing that deserved to give her the cold shoulder.

Letty had worked herself into a temper by the time Mia text her to say she was home and had soppy movies if she wanted to watch with her and her dad.

" _Dom there?"_

Letty had to text, it wasn't optional at this point. Her sanity was on the line.

" _No. He's been out all day."_

" _He said he wasn't working today."_

" _He always goes missing all day today. Dad says we all grieve in our own ways."_

And then it struck Letty.

Today was the anniversary of the day the Toretto family got smaller.

Letty had a day like that, but between the time and her mother's ways of dealing with it, it was always best to let it pass unnoticed.

" _You want me to come over?"_

" _I'm good. Dad's prepared himself for a movie marathon."_

Letty felt like she was intruding just by texting, but it didn't stop Mia's second text.

" _But, he's probably wrecking his car under the freeway if you wanna go."_

" _He hasn't replied to me all day."_ Letty confessed to her best friend, almost ashamed at such a teenage girl dilemma.

" _Then he definitely needs you more than I do. Go kiss him out of his grump and tell him to come home so we can mope together."_

Letty fingered the car keys she had latched onto.

Her car still sat outside the Toretto abode, waiting for when she needed it next.

But perhaps this time, it wasn't herself in need.

But, what if he wanted to be alone.

What if that was why he didn't reply?

What if he wanted the alone time to think about his mother?

Was it intrusion?

Or did he need her?

Mia had her father today, so who did Dom have?

Letty nodded to herself. Dom had Letty.

With a sped out rationale of the Toretto tragedy anniversary, Letty told her mother she'd be hanging out with the Toretto's. She just failed to mention which one as she raced across the streets and to her baby.

She met the hood detail with a smile, fingers caressing the leather as she settled into the driver's seat.

Letty breathed in the smell of the car, flexing her fingers on the steering wheel. It felt good to have this freedom. To be able to race through the town to get to where she wanted to be. To be minutes away from wherever Dom was. To be able to speed to him when he needed her.

Foot to gas, Letty headed straight to the course that held the only kind of therapy Dom understood.

He wasn't easy to find, tucked himself all the way under the freeway bridge, out of sight, away from the dust trails the bikers used. Far from his usual route. Letty stopped the car without any formal parking alignment and slung open the door.

"Busy?" she called across the small distance, her engine cutting off and resuming them in silence.

He was sat on the roof of his car. Legs lengthened down the windscreen. Eyes seemed miles away as they turned to her. "Was hoping we could hang." Letty wasn't at all qualified for any grievance talks. She applied the strategy that worked best for herself; ignorance and talking about anything but.

"Not in the mood, Letty." he sighed, dropping his head back, eyes up to the rumbling road above him.

"Mia says they've got a dunk a teacher stand at the fayre on Friday." Letty tried again. "You still going to take us?"

"Yeah." The voice mumbled.

Letty stopped at the driver's door, eyes only meeting his thigh. Not that he was making any effort to converse with her anyway.

"She's watching movies with your dad at the moment. Kinda got the idea she wanted it to be a full family affair." Letty shuffled her feet, desperately raking ideas of conversation forward. It didn't help when Dom said nothing in response. "Figured I might try to drag your ass back." Letty tried again. Nothing returned from the stoic man atop the car. "Of cou-"

"Just…" he began softly. "Just go home, Letty."

Letty tried to shove down the anger that bloomed at his rejection knowing it was coming from a place of hurt.

"I know it's a crappy day…" Letty spoke quietly. "And I know I can't say anything that will help this. But, I figured you might want to talk, about anything… maybe just sit fo-"

"Jesus Letty. I'm not my sister. I don't need a hand to hold."

Letty bit down on the retort that wanted to lash her temper back at him.

"I'm not asking you to hold my hand and sing songs." she gritted out. "Figured you might not want to be alone is all."

"And what if I do?" he snapped sharply. His gaze finally turned back to her but it was harsh and narrow.

"Fine. Fuck it." Letty barked, turning on her heel. She slammed her body into the driver's seat and took off down the dirt track.

She was angry, but at the same time, she understood 100%.

She couldn't blame him.

He'd had much longer with his mother than she had with her father and it still stung her hard every year. She couldn't imagine how hard it was for him.

And it wasn't just her; he shut everybody out.

By the time Letty was back home, she had justified his reaction and forgiven him entirely. Not that she shouldn't be slightly bitter about it.

He could have been a little nicer.

Her mother had been watching catchphrase celebrity special when she walked back in. There was even a spare plate of tea in the oven in case she was hungry. Catchphrase moved onto some murder mystery by the time Letty set her empty plate on the coffee table, her mother was placing bets on the husband whilst Letty was favouring the butler. It wasn't the afternoon she wanted, but it felt nice. It felt wholesome.

"You weren't gone long." Her mother commented as the protagonist started a timeline. "Mia not up for it?"

"Family time." Letty shortly answered.

"Must be hard." Her mother spoke softly. The words she didn't say were known though: it must have been hard to have lost someone you saw _every_ day for years. With her father deployed overseas, they were used to not seeing him for months at a time. The days after they were told he was gone, it was hard not to think of it as just another normal day with him being abroad. Whereas the Toretto's had their mother there 24/7, every day in the month and year. To lose her would make a huge gap in their lives the day afterwards. The Ortiz's had the luxury of deluding themselves into believing he was still just away on business. "You still want to go to this carnival?" her mother changed the topic in true Ortiz style.

"Going with Mia."

"Don't bring home any more fish, please." her mother laughed softly.

The last time Letty had gone to a shooting arcade she had won a fish in a bag, it had sat on the side awaiting a new home in an old washing up bowl. When it had finally been transferred, it had sat happily outside in the garden in its own pond. Except neither mother nor daughter recalled the reason the washing up bowl had been set for throwing out because of the crack in the corner where the water leaked out if it.

It had made a suitable grave dug into the backyard after they returned to find the fish dried up days later. "It stunk rotten when we found it, Letty." Laughter met apt chastisement.

"I remember." Letty joined in. They'd squealed over who was going to pick it up to drop into the mud pit they dug. Neither was willing so the grave was filled fish and bowl as well.

"I can see if I can re-arrange my shift if you want to go together."

"It's okay. Mia's brother and his friends are going with us too."

"Alright. I'll leave you out some money. See if you can win me something cuddly." Her mother smiled.

"Sure." Letty stretched out on the sofa, watching the butler provide an iron clad alibi for the murder. She groaned as her mother victoriously proclaimed it was always the husband.

As the overly dramatized murder mystery closed, Letty ran up for a shower, she returned to find her mother packing her work bag, a police chase on the tv. Only her mother stopped as she saw her, crossing her arms, eyes pinning Letty hard.

"What? I didn't use _all_ the hot water." she grumbled. Dom still hadn't text her yet. Not even to say if he'd gone home yet.

"You didn't hear the doorbell go?" her mother asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"No, why. Who was it?" Letty couldn't care less. It was probably next door complaining about the volume of Letty's music from her mother's expression.

"Dominic Toretto." her mother announced it with exactly the right amount of judgement that Letty expected. What the hell was Dom doing on her doorstep?

"Why?" Letty couldn't help but jump right into a mood. Had he said something again? Had he upset her mother? "What did he say?"

"Breathe." Her mother reminder her, noting her daughters temper kick up again. "He came to apologise."

"Apologise?" Letty repeated. Any interest in the traffic cops episode had gone out the window.

"To me." Letty's mother continued. "He also said you came to see him today and he was rude to you." Letty felt her body tighten, not sure how to proceed but knowing it was dangerous territory. "He wanted to make things right." And then her mother stepped forward, eyes pin focussed on her daughter as she spoke the next words. "He wanted to ask to take you on a date."

"…What did you say?" Letty tried for casual, she tried to play it off like it was an everyday occurrence but her heart felt like it was in her throat.

"Why was Dominic Toretto asking you out, hija?" her mother's voice had taken on the home grown accent that usually preceded a telling off.

"You're going to be late for work." Letty nodded to the clock and tried to push the conversation off tangent.

"Ahora hija." she repeated. "What you doing messing around with that boy?"

"We wants to take me on a date… and I wanna go."

Silence enveloped the Ortiz family room as the youngest in the latino line found her enthusiasm to fight for what she wanted.

Letty watched her mother's features cycle through from outrage to irritation, sadness to guilt, anger to a glint that suggested agreement.

"You like this boy?" she asked, a plan no doubt already formed.

"Yeah."

"You know his reputation, Letty. Everybody on the street knows his reputation. And I will not be a grandmother until you are married, you hear."

"Si mama."

"So, I'm saying you can go on _one_ date with this boy, but you keep in mind how old you are and that he needs to respect that. You keep your smarts about you. I do not want to come home and find you crying on the bathroom floor."

"Yes mama."

"I am not kidding, Leticia. Everything in me wants to forbid this, and lord knows I have more than enough reasons. But… he obviously thinks something of you and… I need to trust that you can make your own decisions now." Her mother finally unfolded her arms. "I'm not misplacing my trust, am i?"

"No. No mama. Thank you."

"Good. Now, ground rules. He isn't here alone with you. He doesn't go in your bedroom, he doesn't sleep over, he doesn't hit you, he doesn't drink with you, you two do not touch any drugs together, there will be no sex, you two go out anywhere and you text me where, when you will be back, and it will be before 10pm."

"Promise."

"Mr Toretto has offered you a summer job hasn't he?" Letty nodded. "This has nothing to do with whatever you two decide. You keep work and relationships separate, Letty."

"Okay."

"Mia is still doing her summer job too, right?" Letty nodded again, her mother pinning down all the corner of the blanket rules that would smother her. "So you won't be sleeping over at the Toretto house will you?"

"Not until she comes back." Letty agreed, already working for ways around it.

"You have any school work over summer?"

"Not sure yet."

"If you do, that is the priority."

"Yes."

"One date, Letty. Then we'll talk again."

"Yes mama."

"Good. Now I'm going to work. Be good and go to bed at a reasonable time. Two more days until school holidays." Letty's mother wrapped her into a tight hug and took the bag from the sidetable.

Letty reached for her phone the moment the front door closed.

Dom must have been hit on the head to tell her mother they were dating.

' _My mum said you came around'_

Letty text instantly, then sent another quickly following, worried she might sound a bit abrasive.

' _You okay?'_

But, upon review, maybe that seemed a bit too pandering. She sent a third.

' _Are you suicidal? You told my mother you wanted a date!'_

Then again. Letty pondered if it was a bit harsh.

Letty put down the phone before she ended up firing a fourth text his way. Four was a bit excessive.

' _Not suicidal.'_

The text came quickly, attached was a picture of Dom grinning into the camera, Vince in the background photobombing him.

He was out?

Letty wondered if Vince had tried the same she had, knowing what day it was for his best friend. Obviously Vince was successful where she wasn't. Maybe it was a male thing. Bro-solidarity or something.

She wondered off hand where he was.

It didn't look like a bar.

Knowing Vince was stupid enough to leave his GPS on his phone, Letty pulled up his social media page.

It was currently being flooded by pictures Vince was tagged in. Posted courtesy of Ella.

Letty couldn't have stopped clicking onto them if she was paid.

And then she came across the selfies of Ella as she pulled duck face next to her fellow partiers.

And there was Dom, snapped 1 minute ago, Ella draping herself over his shoulders as he tapped on his phone.

Live updating provided the most recent. Dom necking a drink in time with Vince.

It was the second part of his personal therapy.

Letty couldn't hate him for going out with the boys.

But she could, and she would, scowl at Ella for being there as well.

She had no right. She probably didn't even know why he was a 'sourpuss Dom' as she labelled one of her photo's of him.

' _Your mum's not chained you in the basement then?'_

The message from Dom brought her out of her snooping.

' _She gave me a few thousand no-fun ground rules I plan on ignoring, but approved_ _ **one**_ _date.'_

She hadn't expected her mother to agree at all if she was honest. The second her mother said it, she was expecting to hear that she was forbidden from dating 'that horrible boy down the street'.

' _no-fun rules you plan on ignoring. Would that have something to do with her daughter's precious virtue?'_

Letty smiled at the response.

' _What did you even say to her?'_

Letty settled back onto the sofa, traffic cops speeding down the highway on the tv, blues and twos fully activated as they violated laws of the road in pursuit of a drug dealer in a crappy Mercedes van that didn't stand a chance against the three BMW's on its tail.

' _Toretto charm.'_

Letty scoffed a laugh, it can't have been as amazing charm as he thought it was because her mother was still convinced he had a bad rep of machiavellian seducer extraordinaire that Letty would have to contend with.

' _Must have been some charm, my mother didn't even protest about the fayre'_

She was expecting some comment about that as well. Her mother must have been in a good mood entirely for her reactions to be so minimal to the news her daughter wanted to date the boy that had yelled at her a few weeks ago.

' _My charm worked on you, didn't it?'_

Letty could imagine the smirk as he typed such a cocky reply. Asshole.


	36. Chapter 36

I absolutely wanted to post before today, but I've had the week from hell, or hell adjacent. I honestly, have not had more than 10 minutes to myself.

Work decided to unleash a new system designed to half my workload, but it wasn't tested and (unsuprisingly) failed, ending up tripling my work. At our worst time. It's been overtime and stress up to my eyeballs. I need my escapism and you guys are it.

Thank you for the reviews and wonderful comments.

In case your week's been as bad as mine, please take a moment to embrace the friday fayre with Dom and Letty.

* * *

 **Chapter Thirty Six; Fayre.**

The girls were positively giddy by the time Friday came. They were out of their chairs the second the bell rang, racing each other to reach their wall first. Letty had the classroom closest to their Friday escape but even she wasn't first to the call. Dom was already parked there, smile on his face, lifting a hand to her from where it hung out the open window.

Letty continued her run into the backseat, easily sliding herself through the gap between the front seats, curling around to him.

"It's Friday." she smiled at him, meeting a responding grin. A kiss that came easily to her cheek.

"Don't you start crying in my car, I know how much you hate the school holidays." he teased.

"Hell no. Six weeks of freedom!" Letty leaned back as Mia's heels clicked at speed as she ran to the supra.

"Six weeks of freedom!" Mia echoed in solidarity, launching herself, bags and all through the door Letty shoved open and into the backseat for a hug to her best friend.

A cloud of perfume and wrapped gifts spilled out across Letty.

"What the hell is this?"

"Summer holiday gifts from the girls." Mia beamed. "We only agreed something small."

"That isn't a thing, Mi." Dom pointed out.

"Not to you, you're a guy." Mia huffed. Letty pointedly coughed. "Yeah, and I know you don't do things like this. But I won't see some of them for six whole weeks."

"Isn't that the added bonus of the summer holidays?" Letty droned, earning a chuckle from the driver.

"Urgh, how am I friends with someone so anti-social." Mia rolled her eyes. "You know what you are wearing tonight?"

The girls had been perfecting an outfit that was innocent enough for a school carnival and dressy enough for the races. Mia had even contemplating taking a change of outfit to swap between the two but Dom had put his foot down on storing their slut dresses in his car.

"Swear to god, if I can see underwear when you step out, I am not taking you anywhere." Dom protested.

"Brother, let me clarify. If we were going to wear anything with a risk of showing underwear or underwear lines, we wouldn't be wearing the underwear." Mia's smart comment earned a hard stare whipped over her brother's shoulder. "I'm kidding." Mia rolled her eyes. "You are so easy to rile up." Mia turned to Letty mouthing 'I'm not kidding' before giggles broke out between the two.

The girls had reached impossibly higher spirits as they were unleashed upon the festivities of the carnival. Mia raced from the car to meet giddily with friends she had seen get dropped off three cars down. Letty was off to the candy floss cart that advertised the picture of cotton candy with 7 colours. Like pinballs in a machine, they bounced from stall to attraction, energetically bouncing on high heels and letting loose all the embodiment of freedom they felt.

Their energy was infectious, so much so that when they met the entrance to the 'Monster challenge'; an inflatable obstacle course that wrapped around the carnival perimeter, Leon and Jesse scrambled out of their shoes, throwing their wallets at Dom and racing each other to the queue. The glorified adult bouncy castle drew silent awe from the girls, standing mouths agape at the large climbs and slides amid the hanging obstacles and hoops the body was to navigate around and through. The length was incredible, it boasted half the diameter of the park, and from the screams, there was a water splash area somewhere along it.

It looked absolutely awesome.

"Urgh, com'on wait up guys. I wanna go too." Vince complained as Leon and Jesse left. He sagged against himself. "No fair. Who am I going to go with?" he grunted out, kicking the dirt. Dom just raised an eyebrow, he wasn't contorting himself through that course for nobody. "What, it ain't like the girls are gunna go." Vince scoffed. The course was designed with twin lanes to enable the competition element of pairs racing each other.

"Ummm, excuse me?" Mia interrupted before Letty could beat her to the indignation Vince's comment deserves. "Why the hell not?"

Vince took a look up and down the long legs in the skirt Mia wore. He then took his eyes to the course that boasted obstacles to leapfrog, scrambled and pounce over. But if Mia insisted upon doing so in a skirt, he'd probably be in second place all along that ride and enjoying the view immensely. "They're culottes!" Mia huffed, lifting the skirt to showcase the shorts sewn into the material underneath. "Asshole." She rolled her eyes. "Like I'm coming to a fayre in a damn skirt."

"I just figu-"

"You figured what?" Mia challenged Vince's stumbled apology. "You figured you wouldn't get your fat ass beat by a girl today?" Mia was already pulling out her earrings, dropping them into her purse. "Well, today is your lucky day, because you're going to lose your gender a few thousand points when you get stuck on an inflatable slide with your fat ass." Mia was on a roll, shoving her purse into Letty's expectant hands, her heels quick to follow.

Tokens in hand, she dragged Vince out of his shoes and to join the line-up behind Jesse and Leon who were already trying to knock each other off balance in the line.

"We have lockers if you'd like to join your friends." A voice came to Letty's left and 10 minutes later Letty was sprinting down the corridor of inflatable hoops, ball and boxes, Dom hot on her heels. Letty was nimble, but Dom had longer strides and covered more distance.

For a man convinced he would not be racing down PVC puffed with air to create obstacles, he was oddly into it.

Laughing wildly, she ducked through the hole in the wall, tripping on the diagonal beam that caught her feet and tumbling onto hands and knees. Not one to be phased, she scrambled onto her feet before sliding face first through the exposed tunnel, the material of her shorts and cotton top bringing elegance and superior slide to her penguin dive.

Dom must have landed with more grace a few second after her because a hand snared around her ankle, dragging her back along her ground, under the larger body of the assailant, her hands offering no grip and no discomfort to the man she pushed away.

The cheat claimed the lead, striding over her and racing down the tunnel, albeit more staggered due to his larger size.

Letty cursed at him, finding her feet again and chasing after him. She caught up to him on the podium jumps. Large inflatable blocks 4 foot high that Dom was strategically pulling himself onto. Letty charged the set of 4 blocks, launching herself into a bounce and fly, rolling across the top of the obstacle and onto her feet ready for the next one.

She caught neck and neck with him on the third podium, he was striding the block, trying to latch his foot on to push and pull up. Letty threw herself at it again, a jump in her step launching her onto the top.

Letty landed with a roll, elegantly dropping to the other side of the obstacle Dom was still trying to conquer. She met him face to face, drawing in, almost lips to lips before shoving down on both his shoulders and sending him to the floor again. Letty's laugh followed her as she vaulted the last trunk and continued the course.

Battling inflatable boulders, Letty grabbed the rope that assisted her in the upwards climb and began tugging herself up. Sat atop the slide for a breath, she saw Dom advancing, his arms surely offering no problems with the upwards climb that faced him. Letty turned her head to Mia's voice arguing with Vince at the finish line. One more run, one more climb and then the last slide into victory.

Dom was already halfway up the wall. Letty pushed off and down the slide. The slide with motion triggered water jets that showered her as she descended to the bottom, legs akimbo, arms flailing against the unexpected 'rainfall'. Letty's socks slid to find purchase on the bottom of the slide that filtered away the water before continuing on. She continued on all fours until she had to manoeuvre for the obstacles.

His presence came from nowhere, caging her to the bouncy castle wall, a hand on her hip, a hand to pull her close. The dampness of his shirt pressed to her hot skin in a teasing way. And his lips lingered, eyes glimmering as they collided with heat. His chest rose with the physical exertion, akin to hers. It was a moment of stillness in the race of their hearts.

Letty pulled him in, sealing the distance between their lips. Away from eyes, away from anybody else. Slightly damp, happy and muscles burning, it was perfect.

It needed no occasion, no problems to fix, no people to interrupt. Just them, together.

Dom snared her closer, his height deepening the angle of the kiss.

It could just be a Friday night date anywhere in the world.

But they were mid race.

Letty drew back, pressing a short kiss to him once more before she darted out from under his cage, racing on down the track.

Letty leapt obstacles with a laugh, knowing Dom was close on her trail.

Arms batted at inflatable boulders in their ways, aiming them at the other party for any attempt at sabotage.

Letty reached the final obstacle first, a straight vertical climb, foot holes and handle grips to assist before the final slide across the finish line and into a ball pit.

Fighting the exhaustion in her arms, Letty co-ordinated herself foot and hand up and up. But Dom's long limbs didn't need to fight, he stretched no more than five times and he was already ahead of her, sitting straddling the top of the slide before she was even halfway up.

An arm corded in muscle descended into her view.

It came with a smirk that made her hesitant to trust it. Would it dislodge her and send her plummeting?

Its owner rolled his eyes and stretched it further down to her.

Letty linked arms and she was yanked, scrambling up the final foot holds.

The arm didn't leave her, it pulled her over balance and into his chest. It caged her as they tipped weight over and down the slide together. Letty's unexpected scream drew attention as she half grappled him for freedom, half clung to him for safety.

"Cheat." Mia accused her brother. "Letty totally had your ass kicked."

"Nuh-uh. I won." In trivial jovial spirit, Dom proudly displayed the arm muscles that had clawed victory back from his girl.

Letty pulled herself to her feet in the ball pit and proceeded to knock him off balance. Mia helped her out and detailed her win against Vince, insisting she had to 'help' him over the podium jumps because Vince was just a tub of lard with no muscle.

Vince insisted it wasn't like that, he was just wearing jeans and it made it difficult.

"Hell, I'll prove it. I'm stronger than Dom." Vince claimed. He earned himself a scoff from Dom.

"Yeah. Prove it." Mia challenged. But Mia then pointed to the sign for the hammer bell, where the slogan of 'test your strength' shone bright.

Dom and Vince made their way to fight over their muscles and a hammer whilst the girls re-claimed everyone's belongings.

Leon and Jesse were already at the start line again, claiming there was a need for a rematch on the monster course. There was a theory of cheating occurring by a foot placement being over the line before they started. It needed to be clarified with a rematch apparently.

The girls shrugged and returned shoes to feet.

"You wanna go on the Ferris wheel?" Mia asked Letty as they made their way over to where the boys were challenging the strong man to a fete of strength.

"Sure."

"You want me to feed Vince so you can go with Dom?" Mia furthered with a smile.

"I think he'd catch on." Letty voiced but really, yeah, she did kind of want to go with Dom. Hold his hand out of sight. Catch another kiss.

"You clearly haven't seen Vince deciding between junk food." Mia laughed.

"Does it bother you?" Letty asked. "That Vince likes you like he does?"

"It used to. But, he's family. I can't see him as anything else." Mia stopped walking to remain out of ear shot of the boys. "I used to feel guilty that I didn't feel anything when I knew. Now… I don't know. I guess I know he's harmless, he's just a big teddybear." Mia smiled. "Things still good with the asshole?" Mia rolled her eyes to her brother.

"Yeah. They are." Letty smiled. "He told my mother he wanted to date me."

"Holy shit. Your mother hates him."

"Yep, but she agreed to a date." Letty grinned, dragging Mia to where Vince was showboating after ringing the top bell.

"I can't believe it." Mia commented to Letty. She never expected Letty's mother to approve of her brother in any regard.

"Believe it!" Vince hollered, presuming the comment was for himself.

"Oh no, I meant I can't believe it; you think this game is not rigged." Mia covered smoothly, earning a grin from the 'strong man'.

"Alright, where'd you wanna go next?" Letty asked as they chucked the guy's belongings back to the boys.

"Oh, authentic old fashioned sweets!" Mia exclaimed and Letty was dragged along into the crowds.

Pockets and purses filled with overpriced sweets, Mia found another place to spend a game ticket.

"Oh, come to the fortune tellers with me!" Mia enthused.

"And have them tell me vague things I already know. I'll pass." Letty scoffed, she held no faith in their 'artistry' only to call them talented conmen and women.

"I wanna find out if its gunna be forever with Alex. Com'on!" Mia handed over a ticket and sat with Letty watching an overly dressed actress wave her hands over a crystal ball and trace lines on Mia's palm whilst Mia drank it all in.

* * *

"Did you hear Letty? She said it would be a summer I would never forget. That the decisions I make this summer will affect me forever." Mia giddily danced through the crowds. Letty was still staring at the overly priced rainbow cotton candy stall with hate in her eyes. It shouldn't be priced so highly and maybe she could justify it. It wasn't fair they wanted half of her purse to have a giant stick of colourful candy. "She said Neptune is extending my romantic aspects, that I will meet with someone over the summer I will hold a strong private connection with." Mia squealed with happiness. "I wish she did tarot cards as well. It's such a niche field." Mia complained, stroking along the line of her hand the 'psychic' had said meant she would half a long life and a career helping other people in their most needy times. Translation; when they were hungry or dying and needed a lifeguard. Yeah.

Damn psychics.

Letty rolled her eyes and joined back to meet up with the boys. Jesse and Leon were red faced and breathing deep with hands on their knees.

"Fourth run through." Dom explained as they girls questioned it. "They're tied on victories."

"Alright, com'on, time to re-fuel." Mia extended a hand to the boys before pointing to the burger stall. A hand came to her brother's chest. "Not you, you can eat later. Letty's been pestering me to go on the Ferris wheel and you know I don't like rotating heights." And with a simple lie, Mia had split the group to give Letty and Dom their alone time, climbing up the wheel to the apex. Letty leaned over the bar scanning the fairground with awe.

Dom was busying himself looking down at her. He'd already pinned his sister as taking the boys and their burgers around the house of mirrors, handing over yet another ticket to a pointless form of entertainment. The second they were in the house, Dom turned his full attention to Letty, the seat swinging everytime she leaned forward.

"See something you like?" he asked smoothly.

She turned back to him quickly, a smile on her face.

"I can't believe today." She grinned. "Do we have time for the roller coaster?"

"With Mia, sure. I'm not bringing back the hotdog I want." Dom laughed, wrapping an arm over her shoulder as she leant back.

"It's not even a big roller coaster." Letty protested.

"Hmmm."

"Besides, you'll be going on the tea cups later." The boys enjoyed using the manual spin on the teacup ride turning them into a centrifugal force machine designed to invoke vomiting.

"Not tonight." He drew her closer. "I've got a race or twenty to win."

"Why are you still racing? I thought your dad sorted it with Sonia." Letty tucked herself against him, head to his shoulder as they rose to the sky, the view beautiful and clear.

"Would be nice to have a safety net in case we get any more surprise bills from this. Besides, it's all set up now." Dom continued, sliding her loose strands of hair back over her ears.

"What did you say to my mother?" Letty finally asked.

"The truth." he admitted softly.

"Being what?"

"I'm in this, Letty. Completely. I know you can't believe how I feel, but it's the truth. You're mother understood that at least a little if she agreed to let you date me."

"She agreed to _one_ date, that's not exactly planning a long term. You don't even know half of the insane ground rules she gave me."

"Let me guess. She strictly told you not to do this." He tilted her chin with just one finger, pressing his lips to hers. "She must have told you to not let me do this." He closed their lips again, this time, parting her and sliding his tongue into her mouth, angling himself as much as the seat allowed.

"Actually, not exactly." Letty breathed. There was no clause about no kissing. "But to make sure I understand what you mean, you should show me again." They met each other again, twisting in their seat to hold each other closer. The wheel had completed a full rotation by the time Letty pulled away.

"What did she say?" Dom asked sincerely, eyes fused together in the moment.

"No sleepovers. No visits to the house whilst she's not there. No closed doors. No drinking together."

"No fun." he repeated.

"I don't plan on following them."

"Hey, I just got into your mothers good graces, I can't have you messing this up for me." he teased "You'll behave, or else."

"Yeah, or what?" she teased. "You'll withhold sex? Oh, yeah, wait, you're already doing it." she mocked.

"You stick with Mia tonight at all times right." Dom changed the conversation with an edge to his voice that was serious and severe. "All times, Letty."

"I promise." she swore. He read it in her eyes.

"You should stay with Vince, Jesse or Leon too, but I know what you two are like." His lip twisted into half of a smile for all of a millisecond before he was back to serious. "I will keep my phone on me at all times. If you two get into any trouble, swear you will call me."

"I swear."

"Letty. I don't want a repeat of what happened before." She could hear it in his voice. It didn't just haunt the girls. It haunted him too.

"No repeat." Letty held a hand to her heart as she promised it. "Besides, we'll have the most clothes on out of anyone there."

"And you'll also be the youngest and most illegal. People are coming to take my title, they'll lose a lot of money. Knowing who you are, people might try to get clever."

"Dom. Stop." Just one of the many reasons he didn't want to do this in the first place. "I won't leave Mia's side. We'll stay with Hector most of the time anyway."

"Good." He seemed to breathe out all the tension with her promise. "Alright, now go keep my sister out of trouble here. And keep her away from that damn fortune teller scammer." Letty laughed as they were unbuckled from the ride. "She's already been hasn't she?" he guessed correctly.

"Let's find you a burger or something." Letty kept their fingers linked, dragging him through the crowd and to the smell of sizzling meats.

* * *

"You should have seen Jesse!" Mia's voice found them after a few minutes. "He looked like the Grinch." Mia keeled over with laughter. Vince was at her heels, from his gaze to the Monster course, Leon and Jesse were probably spending the rest of their tickets deciding a winner to the course. "And Vince looks absolutely giant in one of the mirrors. Oh, oh, I took a picture of Leon. Just look." Mia met Letty shoulder to shoulder as they went through her photos of the hall of mirrors with the boys.

Letty passed on the burger or other foods. It didn't turn her stomach in the tasty way like it did the boys. Mia had said the hot dog tasted fine, but Letty wasn't feeling all that hungry, not for fayre meat anyway. Besides, it wasn't exactly cheap.

"You wanna try the shooting gallery?" Letty suggested, seeing the large monkeys dangling above it and knowing Mia would want one.

"Oh my god, yes!"

The girls drew out a ticket and lined up shots along the booth to take down the plastic ducks balanced on sticks and shelves.

20 minutes later Leon and Jesse had finally exhausted themselves and their tickets and were crashed on the grass outside the roller coaster, they were holding onto the purple monkey Vince won for Mia and trying not to hurl after a game of extreme tea cups. Vince and Dom were walking back from bumper cars whilst Mia was upturning her purse swearing she had another ticket to ride the roller coaster with Letty.

"I know it's in here. I saved one for the roller coaster." Mia swore.

"What you lost?" Vince asked, ice-cream in hand. The man could eat forever.

"My last ticket." Mia complained.

"You spend it on the hook-a-duck?" Vince asked, having seen them there last.

"No I didn't that was my…" Mia suddenly turned to Letty, mouth open, eyes apologetic. "That was my last ticket." Mia frowned.

"Here." A hand shoved in front of her, ticket between thumb and finger. Mia followed it back to her big brother. "Take it or I'll change my mind." he warned, pressing it closer to her hand.

Arms wrapped around Dom in a sisterly embrace and the ticket came with the girls to scream through the roller coaster that took the space the inflatable obstacle course didn't use.

Dom encouraged the boys back to their cars and was standing with two girls purses outside the roller coaster line when they came out.

"The boys leave?" Letty asked instantly.

"Get some spaces and help Hector with crowd control." Dom answered. "You two ready to go?"

Letty passed one last look to the cotton candy stand by the entrance. But she really couldn't justify it.

"I just gotta say goodbye to my friends." Mia claimed, scanning the fayre for her classmates.

"Meet us back at the car in 10 minutes or we're leaving without you." Dom conceded.

Mia sped off on a hunt, leaving Letty walking back with Dom through the stalls and crowds. "You not hungry?" he asked, noting her eyes go over another food stall without stopping for anything. "You had anything?"

"Not tempted." she spoke. It was true, partially. The only thing she wanted was cotton candy that was too expensive to be believed.

"You should eat something." he chastised but kept step with Letty all the way back to the entrance of the fayre. "Mia better answer her phone." Dom grumbled out, texting his sister for her location. "Check if she's already at the car?" he asked and Letty nodded.

Mia wasn't by the car but she did come hurtling out of the fayre with a rainbow cotton candy in each hand.

"Letty!" she called. "Look what Dom got us!" she extended out the cotton candy to her best friend. "Look how colourful it is, and oh my god, it just melts in your mouth."


	37. Chapter 37

It's not too late for a Christmas present, is it?

Happy Holidays everyone :)

* * *

 **Chapter Thirty Seven; Race Night**

Dom pulled up to the races in style with girls cheering in the backseat and all around the car. Men were waving money around to lure in the honey that patrolled for the next big thing. Music was blaring out of the speakers and the girls, high on candy and excitement, were dancing in their seats before the car could come to stop.

The night sky was the perfect background to the headlights that lined the makeshift racecourse. Any passing motorist would know exactly what was happening, but that was the beauty of being in the middle of nowhere; nobody was passing this way by accident.

The Supra stopped and its driver gave very explicit instructions to the girls in the backseat.

"You stay together at all times, you hear?" They didn't have the privilege of wandering free here. "With one of us." he added firmly.

Dom had some paranoia that one of them would piss off the wrong kind of visitor and things would turn personal.

Both girls rolled their eyes as they agreed, but their fingers weren't crossed behind their backs; this wasn't home turf, they couldn't risk any bold moves out here.

Unfamiliar faces painted the crowds and Dom's anxiety turned him around in his seat again.

"I am deadly serious; at _all_ times. I don't just mean in line of sight, I mean within grabbing and shoving into the nearest car distance." He was expecting the worst.

Letty was going to taunt him, insist he stayed home if it bothered him this much, but his hard features said it wouldn't be the best move, so she wisely kept her mouth shut.

"Which one of you is up first?" Mia asked, already drawing out her mobile to load up the website Hector's ex-girlfriend had set up for the race, password protected of course. The password; thunderdome. The boys thought it was hilarious at the time.

"Leon." Dom answered, already mapping out the safety man for the girls throughout the tournament.

"Cool, who's he got?" Letty leaned over, her phone had crappy signal out here.

"Some guy who's calling himself Chocolate Thunda." Mia rolled her eyes at the nickname.

The idea was simple, each ticket had a fee, each ticket got you a number. The numbers were all in a pot and Hector's ex, who had mad computer skills, was drawing them and putting up the first round of contenders online.

In true tournament style, you lost a race, you were out. It would end with the best against the best.

If you couldn't race and your vehicle was too damaged to make it to the start line; you forfeit the win.

And then Hector came in. He sat himself atop the cars marking the start line with a notepad for his bookie side-career and took bets of the rides that approached the line.

Letty and Mia stepped out and straight into Vince's babysitting duty whilst Dom networked.

He took them to sit with Hector at the start.

It was one race at a time, and governed by the scores on the mobile and the projected image of the webpage on the old billboard with tattered remains of cinema adverts and jesus propaganda.

Humorously, the background stated that 'God was watching...' in the top left hand corner, then a rip straight down to showcase an old poster for Kill Bill. Guess God liked Quentin Tarrantino.

15 races had been and gone by the time Toretto had pulled up and plenty more were awaiting their turn.

Someone invited knew a cousin with a food truck and thus, the smell of burgers and fried onions once more greeted the girls.

Vince's stomach quickly made itself known.

"Seriously?" Mia huffed. "You must have eaten your body weight at the fayre."

"What, man's gotta eat." Vince grunted. "You two want anything?"

The girls declined and under Hector's eyes, they turned back to the race.

5 races later 'Rocket-man Robert' beat 'Alex D' and Letty's eyes started to look for something more interesting.

They found Dom after a few seconds, but he wasn't alone.

The woman who had come by the garage to try and seduce him for this event was next to him.

Black heels, tiny shorts that winked ass cheeks with every step and open checkered shirt that showcased the black bandeau bra she was falling out of.

"Who is she?" Letty asked Hector, knowing he had spoken to her. After all that had been her agreement of getting in.

"Who?" he asked, twisting himself to follow her line of sight. He turned back with an eyebrow raised. "Laura, why?" But his expression said he knew perfectly well why she was interested; jealousy.

"She give you anything good?" Letty followed up with, mentally assessing the female predating on her man.

"Real good, actually. Girl knows her stuff. Been around a bit." A smirk pulled on his thin lips, the double meaning obviously true as well.

"Who's the ho?" Mia's voice chirped up.

"Hector's guilty of insider information." Letty whispered in conspiracy, but loud enough Hector and a few gamblers (if they were listening) could hear.

"Don't you wanna go annoy someone else for a while? We've got a long way before the big betting races." Hector scouted his head up and found Leon narrowing his eyes at a car in the distance. "Leon, take the girls for a walk?" Hector's voice pulled the man's attention and the two girls ended up winding between people to view the car Leon was pitched against.

"So, what are my chances?" he asked the two girls, knowing their analytical minds were just as good as the guys when it came to these cars.

"Honestly?" Mia asked, cocking out with a hand on her hip. "They may as well just give you their money now." she laughed.

* * *

5 victories in for Dom, things were getting tense. And the man showed no sign of it.

Letty saw him pull the car back into its space with the boys'.

She watched him with wide eyes as he vibrated in his skin, bouncing with each step, weaving in and out of racers that had already been knocked out and heading straight for them.

Letty could feel his energy, she had been screaming her cheers from the sidelines along with Mia for every race he had.

Nobody was playing dirty despite the money at stake. It was a straight run to the end of the dis-used runway. Cars lined the path like people at a parade, lights filling the nighttime, stereo's competing for the best track, drivers atop their machines, throwing fists into the air as someone they knew beat someone they didn't.

Letty turned back to the road, where Dom had dominated the other driver. They must have entered with delusions of grandeur at the idea they could beat Dom.

Of course, Dom had reset the natural order quickly.

Leon and Jesse were talking loudly, busy discussing the monstrosity of a vehicle that had beat Jesse in the last race.

Letty hadn't seen it herself, she'd gone around the parked cars with Mia and Vince, attention drawn away by the machines and motors that challenged the limits of the possible.

But the boys had supplied a play by play of what Jesse had lost to, a machine that looked as much of a beast as it drove like.

Letty scanned the crowd again for such a vehicle. There was something kicking up smoke from an overworked engine that was disrupting her hunt though.

Hands settled on her waist and lifted her where she stood. Letty readied herself to seal a heel back into the groin of her assailant until a familiar cologne wrapped around her as she was turned to flop over a shoulder, an ass in her vision that was very very familiar.

"'m stealing this one for a few minutes. Need her little hands." Dom's gruff voice echoed over the chatter and the boys must have grunted acceptance as they regaled Mia with the story for the third time.

"The car alright?" Letty asked, raising herself with hands pushing at the leather jacket on his back.

"Yeah, don't mean I don't need your hands though." The voice was a tease, it came as he slid her down off of him again, hands on her shoulders and he walked her infront of him through lines of cars until they reached the Supra. He pulled open the backseat door and nodded her in.

His frame followed her and the door shut behind them, their bubble once again complete.

Letty stretched herself out over the backseats, enjoying the way his chest pressed heavily against her as he caged her.

"You're going on a date with me tomorrow." he stated.

"Where we going?" her eyes went wide with excitement. Finally, a date with Dominic Toretto.

"It wouldn't be the best date ever if there was no surprise." Dom muttered, nose pressing against her jawbone, urging her head back, lengthening her neck where his lips found her skin.

"Best date ever?" she repeated in a deep breath, fingers already under his jacket and shirt, settling on the way the muscles of his back danced with each shift of posture was his lips explored.

"Not that I have any competition." he chuckled to himself.

"Hey!" she swatted at his arm before looping around his neck, drawing him closer again. "I have high standards."

"Sure you do." he smirked against her neck before drawing back, eye to eye. "You gunna be my trophy tonight?"

Heat bloomed in her chest.

He wanted her.

His.

"Suppose." she teased, easily wrapping a leg over his, the way she wanted to be. "If you deserve one."

"Jackpots getting closer and closer to being mine." Dom held his lips above hers for a moment.

"Mia's leaving tomorrow at 5." Letty mentioned, the intent clear, she wanted to be there to say goodbye.

"I know, I'm dropping her off." Dom pressed a kiss to her neck again. "You'll be back in time to have your emotional goodbye" he chuckled against her skin, the air tickling her pleasingly.

 _"Dom, I errr, know you're busy but…"_ Jesse's voice came after a knock on the tinted window. Thankfully Letty was completely covered from sight, even if the tint hadn't been there. _"You got a sec to look at my Jetta, think I've busted a valve or two."_ Jesse shuffled on his feet. _"She ain't gunna make it home as is."_

"Yeah, gimme a minute." Dom grunted back

"A minute?" Letty whispered, her hands sliding lower on his back, drawing their cores closer.

"I'll come find you." Dom corrected and Jesse's footsteps followed him leaving.

"Can't he fix it himself?" Letty grumbled against him.

"Duct tape's in my trunk." Dom rolled his eyes. They'd each brought an essential piece of patchwork car repair with them in case they needed to limp their cars back.

"So throw it at him and we can talk about you claiming your trophy properly."

"You have no idea how crazy you make me." he chuckled. "Com'on, Vince is probably out after this round, he's gunna need someone to mock him for being a shit driver."

Letty straightened her clothes and reluctantly left the bubble that was the paradise of Dom's back seat. Fingers wrapped around her wrist as she was walking away, pausing her.

"You're good for sleeping over, right?" Dom asked softly.

"Yeah. When do you want to pick me up for tomorrow?"

"I'll let you know." He grinned and turned back to get into the trunk for the mechanics best friends. Letty headed back to Mia, but spotted Jesse's eyes directed her way, jaw dropped, understanding crystal clear as to what had transpired.

Jesse **knew**.

* * *

Letty avoided Jesse for the rest of the night, sleepily swaying and singing with Mia as midnight rolled on and past and the last stage of the tournament took place.

Dom was against the beast that had beaten Jesse's Jetta to pieces.

It was a mutated version of a car if Letty had ever seen one.

The insides had been ripped down to the bare essentials, additional seats removed, electronics stripped and re-wired. All in the name of compromising for the oversized engine.

In Dr Frankenstein form, the mechanical mind behind this monstrosity had taken parts from a variety of different cars, bets were that the engine was hybridized from part supercar, part truck. The growl it made with the depression of the gas was enough to shoot a shiver up spines.

The hood of the car didn't even fit, it had got exhausts cut through the framework at odd angles.

The speed was impressive.

The power was phenomenal.

But the car itself was hideous.

The driver was a built man, shoulders wide, ego even larger.

He said very little to anyone, a smug expression like he wanted to be the best and didn't care what it cost.

Leon noted a tattoo on his neck, a rattlesnake with a key between its fangs, the keys naturally had a skull engraved on it. Classy as hell.

A gang tattoo was the running theory. It explained the variety of 'friends' he had congratulating him with each win.

"Probably built with drug money." Leon offered in comfort to his sulking best friend.

"It shouldn't run." Jesse argued softly. "It shouldn't even be a working engine." he continued, as he had several times before. "It's too fucked to run that."

"Hey, you seen those gang tats?" Vince asked, stepping back into the group's area from collecting a girl's number. "They're tied to that shitty 72'ers we had at that party before."

Letty felt her blood freeze for a second, her eyes turning back to the man parade around the beast for the man called Dune who deserved her angry glare and sharp avoidance.

Her eyes didn't pick him out.

Neither did Mia's, Jesse's or Leon's as they all turned to do the same thing.

"What?" Vince asked, noting the Meerkat response from all 4 listeners. "You don't remember them? There was this scraggy dude Dom punched out, black jackets, crappy haircuts and shitty ink."

"Who's the girl?" Mia asked, changing the topic the smartest way possible and playing on Vince's ego.

"She's cool huh?"

* * *

It was the last race, the bid for the crowning glory. Dom was stoic in appearance, standing beside his ride, leaning like a god against the reinforced metal.

But those who knew him picked out the fidgeting foot, the hands in the pockets to hide the way the fingers tapped together.

Dom was nervous.

Jesse had formulated a plan, a baiting to guarantee a win, but it wasn't without risk. It could backfire.

Mia swore the other driver's ego wouldn't let him down with this idea conceived.

But, he had been unexpected all the way throughout.

Hector was finally closing off all bets, taking the last seconds of gambling from those around him, throwing money, big, big money at the presumed winning name.

The website was playing video clips of their previous races, the way these two machines and their drivers had battled their way to this finale.

It was a quarter mile ahead of them, and Dom stared down it with trepidation instead of excitement.

Mia and Vince had roamed across the concrete, closer to where the gang's member were, a not-so-quiet conversation about a few insults to the gang leader and it would feed back and rough up the wrong ego.

Letty watched as the gang members listened in to the purpose of the conversation before informing their favourite racer that the Toretto clan were stomping down on his giant ego.

He took it the way they'd liked, gritting his teeth and curling his upper lip with disgust to the competition.

Music changed and Hector stood atop his position on the car, introducing the final race with flare, the reigning king versus the monster.

The driver of the tormented vehicle was nothing extraordinary.

He stepped up to his machine like any other man would.

He stared at his competitor with frozen features, a man without a care, without nerves, without compassion.

"He's kinda scary." Mia's voice came in a whisper as she returned to Letty's side.

The girls were both feeling the drag of the long night, leaning against each other for comfort.

It was the deep set eyes that did it for Letty, emotionless entirely.

His black eyes cut from view as he yanked open the door, heavily landing in his driver's seat. "Kinda angry too." Mia added softly, wrapping her arms around Letty, chin resting on her shoulder as they both looked on, attentioned now focussed on Dom.

Vince was passing some information to Dom, his hands moving as he talked. He was too far away to catch the quiet exchange of words, but it caused Dom to look over at his competitor once more before clapping his brother in arms on his shoulder and settling into his own car.

This was it.

Letty felt her nerves sizzle up.

What if he lost?

Dom had never lost.

Not in the history of knowing him, not in a match like this anyway. There had been close calls, and there had been friendly races with pals which he had conceded victory on. But never, when money and pride was on the line.

"He's gunna be a pain in the ass if he loses." Mia's voice was barely audible, a secret thought only Letty would understand. Family support would always wish Dom to win, but, nobody except the girls even contemplated the outcome could be anything different. It was bad luck Vince would say. Don't put the thought out into the universe.

"You'll be alright, you're going tomorrow." Letty answered back, feeling arms tighten around her in support as a response. "Besides, he won't lose."

But even Letty heard the question in her tone.

It was possible.

Hector slapped his book of bets closed and into his backpocket.

It was serious now; no turning back.

The money on the line was wrapped up to a figure the girls couldn't comprehend where to start spending.

Not that the girls were likely to see any of it.

Maybe Dom would buy them a few sweets.

Letty twisted her lips up into a smile.

"What d'ya think he'll do with the money, the garage is all fixed with Sonja right?"

"Yeah." Mia had heard her dad finalising things before he left for the races. "I don't know…"

"New jacket? He can afford to have good taste – Armani." Letty elbowed her pseudo-sister lightly. Mia's laughter came over her shoulder quickly as she wriggled away from the elbow.

"Please, my brother needs a whole wardrobe re-vamp. He could hire me as his personal dresser and finally you won't be ashamed to go out in public with him." Mia was in midnight madness from tiredness, already finding ways to spend her brothers money. "And as his personal dresser, I would need a car, and more wardrobe space, and access to a sexy black card."

"Yeah" Letty drawled. "He's probably going to spend it all on the car and garage, you won't see a dollar." Letty laughed.

"But maybe his super secret girlfriend might." Mia nudged Letty again.

"Not so super secret. I think Jesse knows…"

"Jesse knows? Ho-"

"Riders, are you ready?!" The crowd roused with cheers and whistles of encouragement as Hector stood centre of the start line with a half dressed girl on either arm.

"Did he say anything?" Mia continued under the roar of the audience.

"Not yet, do you think he'll tel-"

"Ready!" Hector called "Set!" The girls rose their arms with him. "Go!"

All attention went to the vehicles, supporters cheering on their side competing for the loudest scream.

The engines cut through the sounds of shouting and with a jolt, the race truly began.

The idea was simple, the boys were convinced the monstrosities build was not stable for such heat and power. Pushing such an engine too far would, with all hope, overheat the cooling system and stop the car in its tracks.

Of course, that was the theory.

But the voice inside the mechanics head's was screaming 'what if it didn't?'.

Dom was pushing the tip of the car in line with the front of the mutated vehicle, neck and neck.

Letty and Mia turned their heads to the screen behind them with the live feed on, unable to see the action properly.

Dom was starting to lose ground, first by a nose, then a full hood, now, there was half the car length affront him.

The camera caught a side shot of his face, Letty could see the firm features, the gritted jaw.

It didn't look good.

Mia's grip on her arms tightened with the anticipation and nerves.

"He's got this." Letty whispered, mostly for herself. Dom couldn't lose. He never had.

"He's got this." Mia parroted, finding her hand wrapping with Letty's in a half attempt at a prayer.

But God wasn't on the racetrack.

Dom was.

And Dom had another plan.

The girls saw his car lurch forward and knew the NOS had come into play, crawling paces infront of the other vehicle, passing driver to driver and continuing beyond.

Dom was clawing it back and the other driver knew it.

There was a reason he didn't come equipt with nitrous, because his car couldn't handle it.

Not with all the hacked manipulations and tentative experimentation.

It didn't have the power to survive such extreme.

Dom did, and he had the skill.

Albeit not one he liked to use often and not one he wanted to ever rely on to win.

The cameras caught the glorious moment Dom's vehicle took the official lead, approaching the finish line closer and closer.

The girls gripped each other, a squeal coming out from Mia.

And then there was the clash of metal.

All eyes pinned to the live feed.

The Supra was turning tyres over roof again and again.

It crashed through the light markings with a cloud of smoke.


	38. Chapter 38

Holy Ship! Have you guys seen how many reviews this has?! You are all amazing!

Thank you so much for all your time reading and reviewing.

As you can probably tell, I don't have a Beta (there's a bunch of trust and dependency issues; I just work so much better without other people involved) and I don't have any more car knowledge than what I see on TV and what the mechanic grunts out with a price tag when I take my baby in.

I do try and avoid mechanical terms and double check spelling/grammar, but some errors are going to slip through. Hopefully it won't break the reading too much and you'll forgive me (and advise) for anything major.

(Thank you reviewer regarding NOS, I've edited a bit since, you're a darling!)

* * *

 **Chapter Thirty Eight; Champion**

"DOM!" Letty burst out of Mia's arms and was pelting it down the track straight behind Vince.

The Supra had finally stopped rolling by the time they had hit quarter way down the track.

Leon had the sense to throw himself into his car, stopping to let the two breathless runners in, before speeding down and off track towards Dom.

Dom was dragging himself out of his shattered driver's window when they pulled up.

Letty saw the blood first, red against the white t-shirt.

Multiple.

But small.

Vince looped his arm around his best friend's shoulders and with a tug he had the man out and wobbling to his feet.

"Dom." But Letty's voice, filled with emotions went straight past him. Dom pushed against Vince and with a stumble in his motions, he stormed over to the other driver who was on the other side of the finish line, awaiting his girls and brothers for celebration.

He met Dom's fist.

Vince was racing up behind him as Dom laid another solid punch to the broken nose.

The audience was coming to them fast, on foot and piled into vehicles.

"Can't take a loss, Toretto?" The words were mumbled by the blood gushing out of his nose but he blocked another punch and the men stood a foot apart, Vince's arms extended between them. "I won, deal with it."

"That's how you win? Attempting to kill anyone who doesn't lose to your fucked up piece of shit?!" Dom was vibrating with anger, fists shaking, legs bolted to the ground ready to support the next punch with all his weight behind it.

"You can't handle nitrous, that's not my fault." he smarted back. "Shouldn't play with toys you don't understand. Maybe when you're older."

"We don't play dirty, not where we come from." Dom ground out.

"Looks like you've got a long walk home, back to where you're from." The bastard answered, turning to where Hector turned up, leaping down from the truck of his cousin's ride. "And here comes _my_ winnings."

"What happened?" Hector asked.

"He's a sore loser." The man replied, his boys naturally taking place around him, congratulations spewing from their lips, fists ready to finish what had started in his name.

Hector turned to Dom, surprise painted on his face.

But… rules were rules.

Hector turned to his cousin who was holding the cash in the briefcase.

"What the fuck you doing, H?" The snapped out words came from a tall blonde in cut off denim shorts, red shirt and giant red bow tied into a high ponytail.

"Why?"

"You wanna see this." She pulled a tablet out of her giant bag. Letty noticed the camera's living in there along with wires and a laptop. This must be the ex with the mad computer skills.

"What's the problem?" The mutant mechanic high on his win stepped forward to Hector, but what they both saw changed their expressions dramatically. Hector stepped back from his viewing partner. "Look, it never happened." And the bastard tried to shrug his shoulders and offered Hector 10% of his winnings to keep him quiet.

"Oh hell yes it did." The blonde snapped back and clicked another few buttons.

There, on the screens available, the Supra was seen passing into the lead, rear tyres just passing the other vehicles front. And then the crash happened, a turn of a wheel and the gang member's innate need to be on top had taken control, driving his front end into Dom's rear. Turning the Supra at speed, tossing it roof over underbelly again and again down the line.

"We don't race like that."

"Disqualified." The blonde re-iterated.

"I won, that money is mine." he growled, stepping up to Hector. Dom and Vince were there in the next second but it was the leggy blonde that intervened.

"Actually, you didn't. The Supra won." She tapped out again and the photo of Dom crashing through the light on the track was up on the screen. "The race is for finishing a quarter mile faster than the other vehicle. Those lights mark a quarter mile. Toretto's vehicle smashing into those happened before you passed the finish line. The Supra, even though upside down, finish the quarter mile before you did; hence, he won."

"King keeps his crown." Hector concluded, nodding to his cousin and the briefcase changing hands.

A loud pop drew attention to the small fire growing on Dom's car.

"You uh… leave the gas on in there?" Jesse asked quietly.

"We should go." Dom agreed, moving the girls with hand motions back to Leon's car.

"Alright, boys, girls, you don't have to go home, but you can't stay here!" Hector's voice boomed out over the audience that stood onlooking. A few turned, but most remained, wanting to drink it all in "Unless you wanna risk burning to death horrifically." Hector added and the crowds scattered to their various after parties, soaking in the wealth they had from bets and wins.

Hector found himself with the gamblers who wanted to claim their winnings, sorting out finances.

Jesse and Leon played directors for getting the cars and drivers back home.

"Dom, you're bleeding." Letty spoke.

"Yeah, you look like Freddy Kreuger got a hold of you." Mia continued. "You think you're gunna live or should I just look after your money now."

"You wish." Dom put his hand to his sister's hair, ruffling the brain in the wrong way and earning a squeal.

"You need the hospital, man?" Vince asked, coming across to Mia's screech.

"Nah. Letty can patch me up. You picked up a few things from your ma, right?"

"Sure." She wasn't sure that she was at all qualified for whatever severity he had, but if he didn't want to go to the hospital, she'd cast her mind back to playing medically accurate doctors and nurses with her mother and her teddy bears. That and all the times since when her mother would patch up her mechanic injuries atop the kitchen worktop with a lecture about paying attention.

Which ironically, she never paid attention to.

It was 2am when Letty laid back in Dominic's bed.

Mia had insisted on fishing out the first aid kit and together with Letty cleaning up her brother. Not that Mia took any joy in cleaning the open cuts with rubbing alcohol, especially not when Dom flinched away from it repeatedly and scrunched up his face with the stinging pain.

Letty found some steri-strips for some of the larger cuts, but mostly, Dom had been lucky. He'd just be black and blue. Not that he said it hurt at all.

Still, he sat whilst his baby sister fussed over him.

He wasn't going to complain about her insisting on making him his favourite food for tea tomorrow.

Teenage medical duties completed, Mia had gone to bed, exhausted and ready to drop.

Letty had tugged Dom up with her, insisting she was either going to sleep in his bed or on the kitchen floor, but it was going to happen one way or the other in the next 10 minutes.

Letty blamed the excitement, it had burned her out.

Dom, however, was still riding the high of the win, adrenaline flitting around his veins.

"You're the best racer in the state." Letty purred, wriggling next to him to get comfortable.

Dom's chuckle was light and soft. "How does it feel?"

"Maybe not the state, Letty." he corrected, a hand in her hair, enjoying the moment of peace as his body calmed down. The only downside was as he relaxed, he was beginning to feel every ache and bruise that was going to be painted on his skin tomorrow. He was lucky, it could have been a hell of a lot worse.

"You will be." The confidence in her tone swelled in his chest.

"I almost wasn't." it was grumbled, his mind cast back to where he would have been without the chemical assistance. Saved by the emergency cannister that frightened him as much as it thrilled him. She knew he hated using it, it made him feel like a cheat.

"He came overpowered, with a stupid car he'd hacked together from everything under the sun. Jesse said he thought he saw some piece from a damn boat's motor in there. He was already cheating before he even arrived." Letty decided. "Besides, it wasn't like he came to play cleanly anyway." And Letty was sullen that the man had even thought of ramming the back of her man's ride.

"Hmmm." he agreed softly. His knuckles were still throbbing from the punch he threw at the asshole. And if he was honest, he was considering if he'd done some real damage to his shoulder from the fight. Or maybe from the crash. He wasn't sure. Either way it was the asshole's fault.

"What you gunna get next?" she asked on a yawn.

"Kinda got my sights on a Mazda."

"Really?" she asked, lifting to search his eyes.

"What?"

"Nothing. Just… what about a Honda Civic. I saw one with Mia which was pretty well modified."

"We'll see." He smiled and closed his eyes leaning back into the pillow.

He could feel the blood running from head to toe, yet to calm down. His mind played the crash again, the sensations of his body batting from side to side, hands bouncing off the roof as it turned over and over. It wasn't his first crash, far from. But, it could have been the most dangerous considering the speed he was doing.

He was seriously blessed that there was nothing more substantial than a light in his way, otherwise, it could have been a very different story.

"Mia wants to be your personal shopper. Says you'll need help spending your money."

"She can keep dreaming. Most is going back into the garage."

"On what?"

"Just bills, Letty. Help Dad out."

"And your new car. And the mods." she added. "And I wanna be there when you do them this time." She prodded a finger into his ribs and he found himself agreeing.

"Go to sleep Letty. You've got a date with the best driver in the state tomorrow. He'll take it as an insult if you fall asleep on him."

Another rib felt a finger jab at it but with a huff the female wrapped around him eased into sleep.

Dom took a little longer, waiting for his mind to settle, for his heart to stop racing, for his eyes to stop seeing his car rolling to his death when he closed them.

His fingers rolled on the cross hanging on his chest.

It could have been a lot different.

* * *

"Letty" The voice was deep and familiar, but quiet. "Com'on, time to get up." It came again with a gentle shove to her shoulder.

Letty rolled towards the disturbance and peeled her eyes away from the pleasure of sleep. They found Dom dressed and smiling. "Get up."

All it took was a stretch and she caught glimpse of the darkness outside the window. She curled back into the duvet instantly, ready to embrace sleep again.

"It's not even daylight." she groaned, when a hand shook her again.

"You can sleep in the car." he negotiated, his tone playful. "It'll be worth it."

"Better be." she answered with a grumble, dragging herself to a sleepy stand and to grab her rucksack.

Dressed in clothes Mia had shoved into her backpack, Letty settled into the passenger seat of her own car; the clone of what Dom's used to be and the drive to god knows where began. As was the deal, Letty let her eyes re-close and the gentle purr of the engine lure her back to sleep.

Letty rumbled into wakefulness with the grind of gravel under the tyres. She opened her eyes to a truck park bathed in darkness and streetlights.

"Where are we?" she asked, stretching to find Dom's jacket over her front like a blanket.

"Just a pit stop." Dom answered, pulling up into a space between two delivery lorries. "Be back in a few minutes." He pressed a kiss to her head and was out of the car, heading towards the truck stop café.

It was still the middle of the night.

Letty gave herself over to the yawn as she wriggled her phone out from her bag. 5am. Holy jesus, what the hell did Dom have planned that it needed her awake at 5am?!

She'd barely had three hours sleep since they came in.

He'd probably had less.

Surely this was entirely unnecessary for 'best date ever'.

Besides, 'best date ever' did not include a 5am wake up call.

Letty sank back into the seat, her body slowly waking up as she watched heavily bearded drivers return from motels and cafes to their vehicles.

Dom came back with a jog, smile and bag of baked goods.

He set it behind his seat and sat back down, engine starting the next second.

"What is it?" Letty asked, nose smelling all sorts of deliciously greasy smells.

"Breakfast." He grinned, pulling out of the truck stop. "For later."

"Later? Breakfast is for when you first wake up, that has been and gone. I'm hungry now."

"We're almost there." he replied smoothly, bringing them back onto the main road and putting foot down on the accelerator as it so familiarly was.

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see."

"It's 5am." Letty grumbled. "I should be in bed."

"It's 5:30am and you agreed you wanted the best date ever."

"This is already in minus figures." She rolled her eyes and wriggled into the seat.

"It'll be worth it." So smug, so assured, she didn't contest it.

She stared out the window at the few and far between headlights of other idiots awake at this hour.

Before long Dom had pulled off the main road and they were embracing a disused track between trees and rocks.

"You can admit you are lost." Letty teased.

"Not lost."

"We're in the middle of nowhere."

"Which is precisely where we need to be." The car found it's engine working overtime as Dom shoved his foot down on the gas, racing up the incline they faced.

"You're lost." Letty concluded.

"Nope, we're here." The scenery parted for a clearing atop a hill. He parked himself staring out at the view they reigned over. "Hungry?"

Dom stepped out of the car and took the food with him, taking seat on the heated hood. "I'll eat it all myself if you're gunna stay in there and sleep."

Letty rolled her eyes and grabbed the jacket that had been her blanket, pulling it on over her dress as she stepped out to join him.

"Why are we here?" Letty asked, stifling another yawn in the morning air. The night was just lifting free, yielding to the daylight.

"Best date ever includes the best food, and, this is the best view in the county to enjoy it with."

Letty had to admit, as she slid up onto the bonnet thigh to thigh with Dom, she got a breathtaking sight.

Like kings before their land, they looked out onto a scene that couldn't be caught by painting or picture. "Plus, bonus sunrise." Dom nudged her with his elbow and drew her eyes to the skyline where the orange glow of the sun was glittering over the distant view. "Eat." A greasy wrapped item was placed into her hands, the scent was mouthwatering.

Dom was already unwrapping and diving into the burger inside.

Letty nudged the paper down enough to lift the top lid of her burger bun. Bacon, sausage, egg and tomato. A fried onion poked out the side to say hello as well. No wonder it smelled like heaven, it was heaven.

Sealing the bun together, Letty ripped into it, delighting in the mash of favours and textures in her mouth.

"Best ever, right?" Dom agreed before another monster of a bite.

They sat watching the sun peek over the distant hills, rising into shape as it illuminated the darkness in the valley. Shadows danced across them from the vegetation.

And yet, it was perfect.

Mia had always gushed about watching the sunset with someone being the most romantic thing ever. And although this meant a 5am wake-up, it seemed worth it. Especially when it came with truck stop diner food.

"Don't drink it all." A grumble came before a drink was shoved into her greasy hands. It smelled sweet and sticky. Letty turned the diner logo to see the scribble of handwritten 'Wake the dead'.

"What is it?"

"Red bull and cola." Dom chuckled at her scrunched up face. "And you best leave me some."

Letty took a tasting sip before a few guzzles of the stuff. It was enough to wake the dead, the red bull was sickly sweet, the cola was fizzing in her nose, but it was an energy kick to the system.

Finished with his burger Dom threw an arm over his girl and extended his finger out to the valley below. "See that?" he asked, digit pointed out with her line of sight towards a large building in the distance. "The big fenced off area next to the warehouse looking place?"

"The place that looks like government area 51?"

"Yeah. That's where we're going."

"No we're not. Be serious."

But they were back in the car with full morning sun glowing. Stomachs were full and happy and Dom was finishing off the energy drink concoction as he drove closer and closer to the building.

"You're serious?" Letty asked as they neared it ever more so. "What is this place?"

"You'll find out." he answered conspiringly.

"I don't need a mystery date, you can tell me." She smiled.

"Nope. I got strict sisterly instructions to keep this day under wraps."

Letty felt her smile manifest as a warmth in her belly. A _day_? That sounded awesome.

She'd never had Dom for a full day before. There was always someone else, something else that needed him.

* * *

On another note, I am just putting the final touches on the last chapter. It just needs proofing and splitting into chapters, probably somewhere in the 50's. A few of the reviews mentioned things you would like to see. And I figured I'd ask and see if there was anything else you were dying to see happen in this story. I've got my main plot sorted and I've got my ending, so it's just any fluffy little things I could give back to you as a thank you.

So far, it's been expressed reviewers would like something of significance with Dom's cross that he wears (I've ticked that box) and Mr T catching Dom and Letty together (Also ticked). So, if there is anything else, please pop it in a review and if I can fit it with my writing, I'd love to do that for you as thanks. Apologies if I can't work your suggestions in, but i'll try to give where I can.

Cheers muchly :)


	39. Chapter 39

**Chapter Thirty Nine: Best date ever**

Dom pulled up outside the main gates of the facility, it must have barely been 6am and the place was deserted. If he was planning B&E, he could have at least told her to wear jeans, she was not scaling that fence in this dress.

Well, at least not whilst keeping any hold on her dignity and modesty.

And flashing the several cameras the place boasted.

Considering her outfit had been provided to coincide with Dom's planning, Letty doubted he had B&E on their Mia approved list.

Her car was tucked into the dry land on the outsides of the facility and Letty soon found herself walking around the outsides of the gates with him, seriously reconsidering about having to break in in a dress.

But a fire door opened into their path and Dom squeezed her hand tighter before dropping it and shaking hands with the man that stepped out.

"Didn't expect you back so soon." The stranger greeted Dom like they were old friends. "Got some bad news though, weathers gunna turn bad." As if an innate reaction both Dom and Letty turned their eyes up to the morning sunshine, not a cloud in sight.

"Smaller track still good?"

"Half hour tops." The stranger agreed with a smile. "You manage to get me that new adaption?"

"Waiting for it to be delivered. It'll bring it over as soon as I've got it." Dom answered, claiming Letty's hand and taking her inside the building.

Emergency lights were a startling green in the darkness of the walkway they followed. Letty noted boxes and crates lining the walls, odd parts of machinery in the process of being boxed up.

Letty tuned out the conversation Dom held with the stranger regarding whatever part he had ordered, her attention on trying to figure out where she was and how much illegal activity she was now a part of.

And then she saw an arm falling out of one of the boxes, fingers touching the ground, poking out from a blue sleeved shirt. They were walking towards it.

What the hell was this place?

The hand looked almost black.

The box was more than big enough to hold a body.

Holy hell, what was this?

And then Letty spotted the yellow crosses on the 'hand', the box that revealed a yellow and black 'head' also crammed in the container.

A crash test dummy.

A well dressed one, folded up with clear damage to the material it was made of.

The corridor fed past a viewing room and Letty stared into the window.

A crash wall stood strong, cameras, tapes measures and computer equipment all set up focussed in on it.

The damaged parts all seemed to make place now. Car parts.

It was a testing centre.

For cars.

New cars.

Super cars.

Letty felt the realisation react on her face, her smile widening, her eyes lighting up, her cheeks pinched in joy.

Holy shit, this place rocked.

She turned back to Dom only to find him already paying full attention to her and her realisation.

His face was a mirror of hers.

Smug bastard knew he had the best date ever without even trying.

God she loved him.

"You sure about the forecast?" Dom asked the man they followed.

"'s what it says, meant to piss it down today. We cancelled all outdoor tests later today."

"It's not raining at the moment." Dom pointed out, obviously working towards something. The stranger stopped. He turned to look at Dom, then back in the direction of the outdoor track most probably.

"I suppose it isn't. But no supercars out there."

"I'll set you up an order with Jesse when I get back." Dom offered in response, earning an appreciated grin.

"S'all yours then. Don't wreck anything." And the stranger headed off in front of them, through the double doors and into a booth.

Dom stood with Letty as she froze in awe.

Behind the double doors was a paradise.

Lines and lines of cars sat before them.

A grinding noise distracted her attention as the front wall of the hanger rose up and revealed an outdoor track to put any others to shame.

"Go on. I'll get us a car." Dom gave Letty a light shove towards the track and she was all too eager to follow.

Her feet took her from one car to the next, to the next and then the next.

It was the mechanics equivalent to a child in a candy store. These models weren't even released, they weren't even online specs yet.

And they were being taken at speed around their own personal track.

Letty rushed out into daylight and stood before the sunbathed circuit.

It was over protective, with lines of tyres hugging every corner.

It was over monitored, with cameras and measures everywhere, but, it was designed to test every element of the car.

This was the ultimate track.

If a bit molly coddled.

The air bit at her legs in a cold morning breeze and, it did smell like rain, but the sky was clear and bright.

Letty heard the revving of an engine and turned behind her.

A car was creeping out of its ranks, Dom strapped into the driver's seat with a huge grin on his face.

No wonder why.

It rolled alongside her and Dom stepped out easily rounding and opening the passenger door.

"How the hell did you find about this place? It's awesome."

"Uncle Mick's ex wife used to work here." Dom answered, taking Letty's hand and settling her into the passenger seat. The inside of the car was much like the track, over protected and stripped the bare essentials; with safety paramount.

It didn't stop Letty's cheeks heating up as Dom lazily dragging his hands down her body as he pulled the seat harness over her. "What do you think?" needlessly asking a question he knew the answer to.

"This is amazing."

"Think you can keep it to yourself?" he asked, clipping the buckle and pulling them tight around her small frame.

"From Mia?"

"The boys mostly, they don't know."

"Are you fucking kidding me? You've kept this place secret from them?" she was utterly gobsmacked.

"They'd get this place shut down in a week with how often they'd be breaking in." he chuckled. "Besides, it's nice to have something you love that's just yours." She read what she wanted from his eyes; that he was also talking about her. A blush ran down her cheeks to her swirling stomach. "Entirely yours." he repeated, snaking a hand behind her head, tangled in her hair before snaring her in a kiss.

It was perfect, the smell of new car in the air, engine purring in her ear, Dom's hands tugging her tight in her harness, his lips dancing with hers.

This, was the number one moment of her life. "Ready for a ride?" his voice was deep with excitement and tease. His hands rolled down her frame, lingering their touch on her naked thighs.

Hell yes, she was ready for a ride.

And yes, she was ready for showing the backseat of this car a hell of a time.

Dom's touch was gone as quick as it came and he was rounding back to the driver's seat.

Letty's eyes roamed over the car.

No luxuries like radio or Bluetooth yet, just the shell of the car, engine and driver purely combined as one.

And sadly, no backseat, she noted with a frown.

But then came Dom into her vision, wriggling himself into comfort on the seat before folding his thick muscles arms through the straps of the harness, clipping it over his broad chest and tugging the straps tight.

Oh yes, she was ready.

He gave her a short look, one that checked she hadn't passed out with happiness and he took them out of the hanger, slowly crawling at minimal speed onto the track before them. He stopped the car at the 'start line'.

"Think we can make it 'round in under a minute?" he asked teasingly.

Letty's eyes scanned the track again. It was quite lengthy. Maybe not a minute.

But there was something in Dom's voice that said he was going to try anyway.

"Yeah." Letty grinned widely and grabbed the 'oh shit' handle where she sat.

And then Dom released the full power of the car, unleashing it upon the track. Letty squealed with joy at the first corner, white knuckles on the harness as she committed the thrill of the chase to memory forever.

Dom was a good driver within speed limits, he was an excellent driver in street races. But here, on the track, unburdened and free, he was fucking amazing. He was always a few metres ahead in thinking, reacting at the drop of a pin, forethinking, foreplanning, dominating the vehicle he had only met a few seconds previous.

Letty couldn't believe she was ever this lucky to be sat beside him.

* * *

"It's starting to rain." Letty called, the water riding gently over her and now falling from the sky.

It was barely 8am and they were the only ones on the beach but the weather man had called it correctly and black clouds were rolling in.

"Hope we don't get wet." Dom mocked, swimming closer to her.

They had left the track feeling ramped up to a thousand, energy buzzing and riding high.

Dom voiced regret about feeding her redbull that morning and insisted she settle down as they drove on to the next stop.

He pulled up at an alcove as they were battling out new theories about the cars they had only briefly seen. A short walk later and the bikini in her rucksack instead of underwear made sense.

He'd stripped off his jeans for board shorts and discarded the tshirt on the sand. Letty's dress had joined them.

"So, how am I doing?" he asked, bringing her into his arms, her wet hair plastering to his skin as he did.

They had spent the morning racing each other in the water, playing around and being as cute as couples on Mia's crappy movies.

"You could kill me right now and it would still be the best date ever." she laughed.

"Good, because that's what I had planned." he joked.

"I'm serious. Thank you."

"Not over yet, Letty." His hands rolled down her back, to catch her ass cheeks in each hand as she looped her legs around him. "Got something else in mind."

"Best date, ever." she replied, lifting her chin to meet his expectant kiss.

"Yeah, com'on, get dressed." He dropped his hands from her and the kiss never came.

"Seriously?" his hands knocked her legs down and she sank back to her chin in the water before finding her feet on the sandy bottom. "Com'on Dom, don't you want the best date ever?"

"Already have it you said." he teased. "I could kill you, remember."

"Yeah, but I didn't mean kill me with sexual tension." she huffed to his back as he waded out to the sand.

"Hey, this is a first date, what do you think of me?" he teased. "That I'm easy?"

"Yes, you are extremely easy." She rolled her eyes but started making her way back to the beach.

"Gotta keep it PG, your mom wants feedback on this date doesn't she?" he threw over his shoulder.

"And I will edit out the rule breaking completely so she hears what she wants to hear."

"And then maybe on the second date, I might kiss you with tongue." He winked at her as she dragged herself out of the water.

"You're an ass." She huffed then changed tactics entirely, crossing the sand to him and pressing her body up against his. "You look hot wet." Her fingers were on his abs, fingers pointed down and quite obviously wanting something else. The bruises and scratches from last night were shining out against his skin, but he said he didn't care. He still looked like a rockstar, one with violent tendencies though. "And I hear beach sex is good."

"Really, you want sand down you pants, Let?" he teased, grabbing his tshirt from the pile of clothes. This was the opposite of what Letty wanted.

"There's a backseat." she highlighted.

"I didn't notice." he replied and the tshirt begrudgingly covered his chest.

"Do you not want me anymore?" another change of tactics but it came from somewhere deep on Letty that echoed it could be the painful truth.

"Don't." he was firm in his short reply. "You know I fucking want you, Letty. But we've discussed this, so just, let it go. We'll get there when we get there."

"And in the meantime you gunna run off to jack yourself off in the bathroom? Keep refusing to touch me? Keep playing PG and hope I don't want any more than you'll give."

"Get dressed and meet me at the car." He threw the dress up to her, snatching his jeans a step later and heading away from their paradise.

The rain had decided a few spots were no longer sufficient and the heavens she had been in were ripping open.

"You hungry?" Dom asked as she re-appeared and silently sat in the passenger seat.

"A little." she replied, like a perfectly well behaved girlfriend would.

"May's diner?" he offered as an olive branch.

"Banoffee milkshake?" and like a good girlfriend, she smiled, like nothing had transpired between them.

But it had.

Even Dom knew this version of Letty wasn't fitting his expectations after that argument.

"Sure, curly fries as well?"

"Hmmm." Agreeing, Letty sat back in her seat as he started the long drive back.

The radio kept them company in the silence.

It was far from comfortable, but so was Letty.

It wasn't her fault she got upset, and it wasn't her fault if he couldn't get over it.

Yet she was the one being punished.

The rain trickled down the windows and Letty stared out of them, biding her time.

It was around three mile markers from May's Diner that Letty decided their agreed easy peace should come to an end.

Even in the rain, the heat was still spilling into the vehicle, the jacket she had commandeered that morning was discarded in the backseat, her dress hiked as far as decency could go.

"I'm sorry." Letty broke the silence.

But the quiet revolved around her, Dom raising an eyebrow to the context. "I just want to be close to you. And… I guess this is hard for you too."

Again, silence and suspicion greeted her. "I don't like how we left things, and this is still the best date ever. I just… do you mind if I have a hug?"

Every alarm bell inside Dom's head was ringing. This was not normal or even sincere Letty. This was Letty that wanted something. Scheming, conniving and manipulative Letty.

"You want a hug?" he questioned, rightly so. Letty was not a hugger.

"Well, I want a kiss, but you _are_ driving, so I guess I'd take a hug." Letty's seatbelt un-clicked and the next moment, Dom had his arms filled with a horny teenage girl with a very clear ulterior motive for her sudden need for comfort.

It came as no surprise when her lips found his neck as she koala'd herself around him.

He kept his attention on the road, the straight forward- no secret pot holes to find yourself dropped in- road.

Her fingernails scratched lightly against the back of his head, as she knew he liked.

Her mouth sealed around his ear lobe and sucked in the way she knew he fucking adored.

His grip tightened around her, one hand on the wheel, one digging into her ribs, as if to encourage her to behave.

The windscreen wipers batted backwards and forwards in the break in radio music.

"I just find it difficult, to think about what we could be doing." she continued her plot, a breathy sentence directly whispered to his ear. "To know I can't blow you on the way home." His fingers squeezed a minute amount tighter. "That I can't slip my hand between us and take you out of your jeans." He clocked her hands on him, one still at the nape of his neck, the other resting against his bicep. He needed to keep an eye on those slippery bastards; they'd be the death of him if he lost track.

"Letty… stop thinking about it." he warned.

"It's all I _can_ think about, that if I wasn't wearing panties, maybe we could be sat like this, only you'd be inside me, and I could do this-" she rocked her hips against him "And know I could make you happy." Her heavy breath tickled against his neck. "But I know it's not fair to you." Yet it seemed she didn't care. She 're-positioned' herself on him, 'accidentally' rubbing against the semi he was trying so hard to fight. "And I'm sorry about what happened. But I don't want you to think about our first time as what will happen every time. I want you to think about before that, when we were together and it was good. Really, really good." Her teeth lightly nipped at his other ear, her tongue dipping out between them and flicking over the lobe as if it was something else entirely.

"I know what you're doing Letty. It's not going to change my mind."

"No, of course not. I just wanted to let you know how sorry I am. That it has to be this way." she re-iterated the falsehood. "That I can't suck you, and that I go to bed pretending my fingers are yours."

"Fuck Letty." he groaned, fingers splaying long against her to fight the need to throw down and fuck her.

"I think about it, a lot. And I know it's not your fault that it makes me so wet. Like now."

She was a siren, luring him into spoiling her entirely.

"I'm serious, quit it Letty. Sit back down." Dom grunted out.

"Okay." Dom expected a fight, but the minx extended her legs and slipped back into her passenger seat. "Oh, sorry Dom… guess I must have forgotten to put on my panties."

Dom followed her eye sight to the dark patch on his jeans, right over his semi where she'd been rocking against.

"Jesus Letty." he breathed out hard, fingers squeezing tight on the steering wheel. "You need to behave, sort yourself out." Maybe it was just his mind playing tricks, but the only thing he could smell was her sex, the only thing he could feel was the memory of her grinding on him. Even his ears betrayed him, alerting him to every breath she took.

"You're right." Dom could have groaned at her agreement, round two was coming. No woman in this mood would ever say he was right without another plan up her sleeve.

And Letty seemed to have that talent down.

Suspiciously well considering her lack of relationship experience.

Dom poured all his attention into the wet road passing beneath him until he saw something out the corner of his eye. A dress being hiked up farther than decent, a knee raised to the seat, a hand disappearing between her thighs.

"What are you doing?" he snapped when the hand didn't re-emerge but started familiar movements.

"Taking your advice. Wanna watch?"

"Don't you fucking dare, Letty." He could take a lot but his girl finger fucking herself on the passenger seat whilst he tried to not crash her car… it was too much for any one man.

"I'm just sorting myself out, taking the pressure off." She was a demon he both hated and wanted like mad in those few minutes that had passed. She knew all of his buttons and was pressing every single one.

He glanced across to see her eyes flash through dark lashes, knowing she had at least a finger inside herself. "Although it would be better if this was you." she teased.

"Letty, I'm serious, quit it." he swatted at her, but only clipped a knee with his finger tips.

"You told me to sort myself out."

A moan broke her lips and Dom was fully hard in his jeans, begging for him to reach across, sink in his fingers, taste her, drill into her with his cock.

Fucking hell.

He couldn't take this.

"You don't quit, right now. I swear I will pull this car over and spank your ass red."

Letty paused her motions, eyes lifting to Dom's and she spoke two words that threatened to be the death of him.

"You promise?" the heady lust in her voice ricochet around the car, pounded into his brain heavier than the rain on the car.

He watched her sink another fingers into herself.


	40. Chapter 40

**Chapter Forty: Dressing to impress**

"So," Letty was greeted by the full attention of her mother as she walked in, hair soggy and sticking to her skin. "Did you have a nice time?" The question was innocent enough but her mother's eyes were scouting her for any clues to her real questions of witch hunting Dom. No witches to be found.

"It pissed it down. Still is."

"Hmmm." Her mother agreed and made her way to the airer at the back of the living room where one of the hand towels was just finishing drying. She tossed it across to the able hands of her daughter who took it straight to her hair. "so," she began again.

"It was the best date… ever." Letty smiled true.

"Really? Best date ever?" Her mother let out a chuckle and set back on the sofa to hear the story from her daughter.

"We went to the beach this morning, before the rain." Letty narrated, rubbing her hair with the towel. "Do you remember that Diner at the end of the strip?"

"May's?" her mother recalled. "Didn't they get bought by one of the bigger chains?"

"Yeah, but they didn't change anything. They still sell the freakshakes."

Freakshakes were their crowning glory of May's diner in Letty's opinion. Homemade milkshake filled a tall glass. A doughnut of complimentary flavour sat on the rim of the glass, straw through its middle and into the milk creation. Topped around the straw and doughnut was whipped cream, sprinkles and themed sweets balanced on overload.

It was paradise, in a glass.

Probably three thousand calories, but god damn worth it.

"And you've had one without getting whipped cream in your hair." Her mother guessed. "I'm impressed."

"Dom bought me a banoffee one."

It wasn't the only treat Dom gave her.

True to word, he pulled the car over out of public eyes and yanked open her door.

Letty didn't find herself admonished, instead, his hands hooked on her thighs and he knelt down, face between her legs. Letty had barely survived the surprise before she was leaning back over the gear stick, moaning at the steering wheel as he drove her into bliss.

He ate her out until she squealed in pleasure.

When she had no energy left, he pulled her into the hug she claimed to previously want, his erection tight against his jeans and one hard slap fell to her ass cheek.

He stole her complaint with a scorcher of a kiss and told her she was hot as hell when she was manipulating him.

And then he proceeded to charm the socks off of her, ordering all her favourites that she didn't even know he knew (probably a Mia intervention) and debating his next possible car while she stole his fries. He didn't even complain about her picking off his plate.

"Did he?" her mother's lips were curved in a smile, the man certainly knew his way around her daughter's heart.

"Yeah. And he was a _perfect gentleman_." Letty offered, mocking her mothers marking scheme for Dom.

"I see. So, are you going to keep seeing him?"

"He said he wants to keep taking me out." Well, his actual words were that he was going to pay her back for being a cocktease, but the idea was implied he'd be taking her out again. Letty was looking forward to it. But, her mother could halt this in its track. Well, she could attempt to. Letty still knew how to sneak out her bedroom window. "Can I?" Letty had never felt like more of a child than when she looked at her mother and asked for her to not ban her from seeing the boy she liked.

"Honestly?" Her mother sighed heavily. "I would rather you didn't. We both know his reputation with women." Letty felt her heart sink. Sneaking out it was. "But, I know you. And I know forbidding this, is not going to change you doing it. So, to save on the lies and having to install a complicated lock on your bedroom window. Yes," her mother announced the word like she was signing away her life. "You can continue to date Dominic Toretto." she said his name like it was foreign. "But, in exchange; no lies Letty." Letty found her head nodding before she even thought to do it. "You keep to the rules I have set." Again, the head kept nodding. "And you come to me if you need anything. Open and honest communication, Letty."

"I promise." Letty signed her name along with her mother's on the mental agreement of dating Dominic Toretto.

"If he makes you feel pressured, or unhappy or anything you don't want to feel, you call it off, Letty." her mother reminded her. "You are the most precious thing in the world. He better see that or he will be very sorry."

"Mom, I'll be fine."

"Of course you will, because if you aren't, Dominic will become intimately aware of just how good my medical knowledge is."

"I'm not sure what you're threatening, but… okay?" Letty guessed and found herself wrapped in a motherly hug.

"Oh, you're soaked through, go get cleaned up. Mia's leaving in a short whilst isn't she?" Her mother released her with a smile.

* * *

Letty caught the mobile that spilled out from her rear jeans pockets as she bent over the Fiat's bonnet again. It was Wednesday morning and school had been traded for her passion. Mr T was in the office humming along to the radio that was failing to drown out the sound of the workers drilling through wooden beams. Vince was most probably slacking off or chasing the latest soccer mom to pass. Jesse and Leon were arguing over the best way to replace the seals of the LeBaron.

And Dom, Dom had been given the week off at his father's insistence. But the agreement came with his own insistence to Letty; that she keep her phone on her at all times. He even went so far as to mysteriously promise her it would be worth it. But she couldn't bend with the device in her front pocket, and it kept sliding out of the back, as once more, it had demonstrated.

Letty set the mobile on the top of the engine, knowing it would end up more greased than healthy but she was annoyed with it. She didn't see why she needed it, but Dom had been very strict about this.

Not that she'd had any text so far today.

He was probably still asleep and enjoying his day off.

A deep hum alerted her attention and she dove her hand to grab the mobile that threatened to dive into the inner workings of the car. A text.

Speak of the devil.

Letty lit up the screen to confirm it was indeed Dom.

 _Favourite colour still black?_

Strange question for 10am on a Wednesday morning, but she wasn't going to complain. She was having Dom withdrawals; he was usually all over the shop, always in eyesight or earshot. It was rare he took a day off. She had last seen him on the drive back from dropping Mia off at the resort and she'd been too tired to do anything more than grunt in and out of sleep.

 _Black or purple._

She tapped back her reply quickly, unsure of why he was asking. Purple was courtesy of too many dresses from Mia. Black was just her bitterness from the bruises the universe gave her. Plus, it was slimming, as Mia often said. It made her hips look more attractive. The black jeans she had always caught Dom's eyes.

 _Both?_ ;)

Attached to his response was a link to a website.

Letty furrowed her brow, what was he doing? She clicked onto the hyperlink and leant back against the bonnet.

Her eyesbrows rose as the site loaded. There, skinny and gifted, a lingerie model showcased a deep purple bra and panties set outline in black lace. It was beautifully stunning. And, holy shit, it had a price tag to kill her bank account.

Not to mention her brain power. Why was Dom browsing lingerie? More importantly, why was the idea making her hot under the collar? Letty pressed the side button and blacked out the screen, this was not how she got _any_ work done thinking about that.

Not three seconds later, her phone vibrated again, against her hip where she rested it.

She couldn't help it, she opened it, and clicked the link that followed the message of:

 _Red and Black would look fucking A on you._

Letty's heart kicked up a few hundred beats as the website once more loaded to a sister model in a red corset with black highlights swirling over the bodice. To pair with it, tiny matching panties with black stockings clipped onto a garter belt. And again, the full set had a whopper of a price tag that was easily _double_ the previous one.

 _It's more than I'm earning today._

Letty tapped her message and shoved the phone back in her rear pocket.

As predicted, it was almost falling out of the pocket with the next incoming message and her stretch over the engine.

 _I'm buying, anything in particular you want?_

Letty's brain had fired out a million protests but also one strong voice that echoed 'fuck yes' in response. She scanned the area for any male ears before tapping the phone icon next to his name. He picked up quickly.

" _Blue and white too virginal?"_ he teased in greeting.

"What the hell you doing?" she hissed.

" _You look good in matching undies, really good."_ She could imagine his grin twisting over his lips as he thought back to the singular pair of matching red underwear she had tried to seduce him with various times. _"Figured you might want more than one pair."_

"You can't just buy me that, have you seen how much it is?!" she whispered, aware she was still at work, surrounded my males, and Ella who was god knows where.

" _Yeah, I don't think you understand how fucking good you look, Let."_ Praise flooded her red, warming her stomach and trickling into her mind. Dom thought she looked good. Dom wanted to buy her something. Dom wanted her. Except…

"Doesn't matter how good I look apparently, you aren't done punishing me." Her voice remained quiet and low, a hand shielding the words into the microphone.

" _I could punish you Let, they got these red handcuffs that would match your set. Nipple clamps too. Maybe I'd leave you tied up to my bed, hot and excited… vibrator working you over until I came back."_ Letty felt a thousand degrees, she could hear his breath down the line, the breath that usually came to her ear when he was hard and wanting.

"Dom…" Was he sitting there, on his bed, laptop on his duvet, hand wrapped around himself… or was that just wishful thinking?

" _Hmm, we need to work on your pleading."_

"How long are you going to do this for?" she huffed, leaving the car and stepping outside into a breeze, away from the cars, away from the ears, away from the eyes that could see her blush.

" _That depends, you believe me yet?"_

"I believe you think you do." she bit out. He wasn't fucking her until she believed his feelings were genuine. But how could you trust that when you were staring into the eyes of one who had used so many before you, foolishly letting them think the same thing, whether he said it or not was irrelevant.

" _Then it will be a little longer for you Letty."_ he chuckled. _"So help me pick out something nice for you, to help you with your impatience."_

Letty huffed, growled a little and paced a lot up and down the length of the outside.

"Fine, but La Perla will probably have another sale and if not, they won't be those prices."

" _I suppose if they're cheap you won't mind me ripping them off you- when you do come around."_ he teased.

"You're insufferable." she complained.

" _Just say you miss me, Let. I'll go easy on you."_ he dared, knowing full well she would not speak the words that would make her feel so weak. _"Oh, I don't think La Perla will work."_ he spoke but there was a toying to his voice, an edge that said he was still playing with her.

"Why, it's cheaper, it's more everyday stuff and it's not as sleazy."

" _Yeah, I don't want you in everyday, I want you sleazy Letty. Stocking up your legs, heels on your feet, knelt down, tits on show, begging me to please you."_

"Quit it." she puffed, his intentions to awakening her sex drive achieved.

" _What about cream, sweet and innocent, laid out on my bed, or flashing me in my car, peeled slowly down your legs?"_

"I have work." she fussed, knowing she was excited, knowing she was craving him, knowing he would be palming himself without her there, without her touch, her kiss. Damn it, he knew exactly what buttons to press.

" _So do I."_ he smartly replied. _"But I think I can handle a simple internet order."_ Letty grit her teeth, she wanted to fight, as was nature, but… there was that voice again screaming 'fuck yes' at top volume, begging her to let Dom buy her proper grown up underwear, _lingerie_ , of dressing up for him, of standing before him feeling like a queen. Of accepting his gift without any concern for the consequence. It wasn't like he didn't have some money to play with, courtesy of the races. _"Plus, there are a few sex toys I think I'd like to watch you play with, but they can be a surprise for when they arrive."_

"Dom, I…"

" _Excited?"_ he teased, a draw over his voice. _"Desperate?"_ he continued, a breath coming over the phone that she knew 100% was aroused and aching. _"Horny?"_

"I have work…" she repeated, knowing the blush was all the way up her neck and ears.

" _I'll let you know when they arrive."_ Letty heard his chuckle before the line cut out.

Letty shoved the phone hard into her back pockets before remember the problem and palming it, a second later, she shoved it down the inside of her right boot and ignored the text vibration that was no doubt another tease.

"Fucking bastard." Letty mumbled under her breath, storming past the parked Mercedes and back into the garage to the Fiat. Fully intent on ignoring her phone for a long while.

Little did Letty know she had also completely blanked out the male body dozing in and out of a cheeky nap on the backseat of the Mercedes, one with big ears and a curiosity that was not to be underestimated.

One that was slowly drawing a lot of dots together with one very hypocritical line.


	41. Chapter 41

I'm told this will make some people very happy? Well, proceed with happiness :)

* * *

 **Chapter Forty One: Fighting for Love**

By Friday, Dom had proved true to his word, a flurry of texts had arrived whilst she was arguing Japanese and American cars with Ella, and begrudged to say, she was actually warming to the female after the long hours forced together. Plus, Ella spectacularly verbally slaughtered Vince when he suggested Dom get an automatic gear box.

"Where's the fire?" Ella laughed as the texts flew in.

"Probably Mia." Letty laughed, unlocking her phone. It wasn't Mia. No, it was a picture message from Dom. A picture of a cardboard box addressed to himself, sealed and a lot bigger than she expected. It came with a follow up message of 'got something that wants to be inside of you tonight'.

"How's Mia doing with the boyfriend?" she asked quietly, conspiring against the boys that didn't know. Mia had text Ella one night and Ella had put two and two together from her happiness level apparently.

"Ummmm, good. She text me this morning and said she was meeting him tonight." Letty answered, quickly pocketing the phone again.

The mobile vibrated again with a new message. Letty ignored it until she excused herself from the conversation of Mia's love life and back to work.

Another picture message of the same box, now open and empty with a hundred emoji's of happy or excited faces in the text line.

She didn't even get that many positive images when he picked up his new car on Wednesday.

Honda Civic, he'd settled for, after much debate.

He located one in a deep purple which stole his heart on first glance.

He took Jesse and his inventing mind to view the engine and they came back with two cars instead of the one they had taken to 'just look' at it.

Jesse had spent his lunch drawing up the modifications for Dom, they'd yet to be implicated though.

That was a job tonight apparently.

Letty wasn't stupid enough to think Dom had let her off his conditional love hook, but she expected him to turn up after hours with the idea of stealing her away and testing out a new toy.

She didn't expect the purr of his new motor to come with nothing more than a cheeky grin shot her way as he headed straight for Jesse.

Car struck higher than sexual appetite it seemed.

Letty smiled to herself, she wasn't surprised really.

"So Mia has authorised the peacock blue." Ella made her way over, the shop closed up and workmen gone home for good. She carried one of Jesse's earliest sketches in her hand and spread it over the hood of their recovery truck where Letty was stood, pulling down her work overalls. "But only on the two walls that are the main features."

"Seriously?" Letty groaned, stepping out of the coveralls and tumbling them over themselves in her arms to 'fold' away for next time.

"I have texted to try and annoy her into letting us do one colour, but she's out at some music event with Alex so is thoroughly ignoring my complaints." Ella huffed. "Can we just do it all blue and hope she doesn't kill us?"

"Your funeral." Letty offered with a laugh.

The week had been filled with drills and saws, but finally, the workmen had finished.

Which was a miracle in itself, Letty swore they were on a go-slow so they could perv over Ella's long legs and toned body every time she bent down within their eyesight.

Ella had ended up with five dates lined up just from the crew. It was probably due to the sudden change in her outfit from skinny jeans to short skirts.

She swayed her hips and stated she loved nothing more than men who knew how to do a full days work with their hands, and suddenly production went up.

Rotten wood has been cut out, joists had been treated with spray and the building was given the all clear to not collapse on them.

Which had led to the all-hands-on-deck Friday night approach to fixing up the garage.

Vince trailed the sledgehammer along the floor noisily, pulling a face like a serial killer and stalked Leon who was inspecting the work done.

The plan was to take down the useless second office that was in there to give them extra space. Then came the roof repairs, the glass in the windows needed replacing, the shelving put up, the units fixed to the walls.

Mia, despite being miles away, had deigned that Ella and Letty were in charge of 'prettiness', which meant to painting and the final layout approval.

Mia insisted she would be back in time for them to tackle the outside paving area for Sonja's extra seating and their arty features. Apparently that wasn't something she could delegate.

Letty jumped at the first bang before turning to the cloud of dust where Vince had finally channelled his latent hostility into a healthy outlet of tearing down a wall. A quick second burst suggested Leon was also braced with another sledgehammer and the two were in for a therapy session of their own making.

Dom and Jesse were no doubt already elbow deep in the Civic. So much for helping with the building.

"Okay, so authority on the powder blue is still awaited." Ella rolled her eyes at her mobile and slid it into the slim back pocket of her tight jeans. "Guess we're assembling the shelving unit?"

* * *

Two shelving units assembled and strong, Letty was sat outside on one whilst Ella flirted on her mobile, one of the guys from the build trying to score a second date with her.

Vince and Leon were lugging smashed brick work from the building to toss into the skip.

"Oi, short stuff, you wanna lend a hand?" Vince snapped, passing her for the fifth time with arms loaded with debris.

"Nah. Mia's telling me about her day." Letty smartly answered, knowing simply because she had mentioned Mia's name Vince would let it drop.

The man would do anything for Mia.

It was amazing Mia hadn't abused that power yet.

 _'The music sucks. Can't believe we paid to get into this place.'_

Mia was complaining about the concert to no end.

 _'You didn't pay. You got in on Alex's ticket.'_

Letty waved her fingers at Leon's sweaty judgemental face as he passed once more, sticking out his tongue for her.

"Lazy ass."

"Sweaty mess." she bit back, passing a smile on.

 _'That is not the point. Other people paid to listen to some cat screaming on stage. Urgh'_

Mia was always at service to the people of course.

 _'So leave. Enjoy your night with Alex.'_

The text back was quick.

 _'He has no taste in music, he thinks she is good. Like WTF, right. Has anybody injured themselves yet?'_

Mia had a rightful concern for the way the boys handled power tools.

 _'Not yet. Nobody's tried to pick up a paint pot yet, so stand down.'_

It wasn't above Mia to scream murder down the phone if the boys attempted to mess up her remote paint control authority. She had a plan and it would be seen through.

 _'Good. I expect photograph updates.'_

As much as Mia liked her time with Alex, even Letty could tell she missed being at home. She missed having her brother to annoy, missed being where the changes were, missed the familiarity.

 _'Not the same without you, Mi.'_

And it wasn't. Mia would be here, sat with her on the shelving mocking the way Vince walked with the giant piece of rubble in his arms, or the way Leon seemed to be able to lift the weight better than Dom despite having half the muscle. Something trivial made fun.

Instead, she had Ella's half of a flirtatious conversation in her ear.

 _'Good_ _I miss you too. But… I'm being a good girlfriend for Alex with this stupid concert and I'm hoping I get a good girlfriend reward later, so… Can't say I wish I was back at home right now.'_

Letty rolled her eyes. She wanted her good girlfriend reward too. She'd been very good recently. She hadn't snapped at him all week.

Mostly because he hadn't been at work and her mother's presence had prevented long visits after work. But still, praise where praise is due. It was about celebrating the little things in life.

And after he had teased her with his text that morning…

And there he was, wiping his hands on a grubby rag, stepping away from his new baby and back into her line of sight.

And he met her eyes straight away, fire shooting between them. Passion, heat, want.

Letty felt her insides melt, crawling for her to get into the arms of that man.

He nodded his head, beckoning her over.

She pushed off the shelves the next second, crossing the distance and cutting out of sight with him to see the Civic.

But it seemed that wasn't why he called her over.

It wasn't this prize he wanted to play with.

"Can't wait for tomorrow." he began, looping an arm around her, guiding her against the Civic's bodywork and drawing his body in her personal space.

"I can be there as soon as I wake up." she promised. Angling her head back, awaiting his lips to descend.

He breathed a chuckle out against her.

"Eager?" he whispered. "Some of us have to work the morning you know." he grinned cheekily. "Not all of us skate by with someone to buy us nice thi-" he was cut off with a sharp finger jab to his soft tissue. Okay, so she didn't win girlfriend of the year award this week. He laughed and caged her to the car, hands full of her, guiding her body against him in all the ways he wanted. "I've been thinking about you all day since that box arrived."

"What did you get?" she asked softly, enjoying the way his aftershave mixed with the smell of engine that was ever present in the garage.

"Surprise." he commented, finally pressing his lips to her, but stretching out kisses along her neck, instead of where she wanted him.

"I'll come over after you finish work?" she bartered.

"Hmmm." he agreed working up to press a kiss at the corner of her mouth. She turned to seek him out. "Dress to impress, Letty." he added, fingers knotting in her hair as they explored, turning her head just a little more for that perfect tilt. And then he hit peak, plundering her mouth with all the passion that drove him to her.

She moaned against him.

Finally.

All the hot energy that had been working up finally had release.

"What. The. Fuck." Vince's gruff voice split them apart quickly.

Letty froze, back against the Civic.

Dom recovered a little better, stepping to Vince with hands up, picture of innocence.

Neither of them expected Vince's fist to make a dive for Dom, his body weight following and taking them both to the floor.

"Vince, what the fuck?" Letty grabbed Vince's shirt to drag him off but her hands slipped free from their purchase and Dom was already throwing him off, both grappling to their feet.

"Are you fucking serious?!" Vince snapped. "All the shit I get about Mia and you're fucking her best friend!"

Heels clicked quickly in the pause and Ella joined them in the garage.

"What is going on in here?" The mobile was still poised by her head, the caller forgotten.

"Ask him." Vince demanded, face like thunder.

"Call me back tomorrow." Ella spoke into the phone and ended the call. "What is the problem, guys?" Then she recalled previous problems. "Is this about Mia again?" She noted the dragged clothing, the heavy breathing, the obvious fight signs between the boys. The only thing that powerful to destroy their friendship was Vince's affections for the teenager.

"What's happening, we can hear you yelling across the yard like little bitches." Leon pointed out, arriving with Jesse.

Great, everyone was here now.

Letty wanted to crawl backwards, to slide her way out of there un-noticed. But Vince's eyes had pinned to her the second she moved.

"Why don't you tell them what I walked in on?"

Letty felt her face warm up, embarrassment blurring with anger once again.

Dom quickly stepped in Vince's line of sight.

"Let it drop, Vince." Dom advised sternly.

"Let it drop? Like you let it drop anytime I said anything about Mia. And that was just stuff I said. It wasn't like you walked in on me sucking her face off." An arm snapped out to Letty's direction again.

"I think I've missed something." Ella spoke softly, stepping between Dom and Vince. "What happened?"

"Dom got himself a girlfriend." Letty felt her secret slip away from her hands. She saw their last kiss being their very last and she hated herself for losing him like this.

"Uh-oh." Jesse's knowledge had pieced this together. Seemed he no longer needed to keep his secret either.

"What?" Leon spun to him, but Vince was too hyper focussed to note.

"Dom got himself an underaged girl who'd been following him around with doe eyes since she met him."

Letty felt the words cut at her exactly as Vince intended.

"You're pissed so I'm gunna let that slide, but you watch how you talk about her now." Dom warned.

"What, you mean you found some feelings for the little girl with a crush you've manipulated into fucking you?"

Ella squealed as Dom lunged for Vince, Jesse tugging her out of the firing line just in time.

Dom and Vince grunted and growled their way on the ground out of the garage and onto the tarmac, progressing closer and closer to where the sledgehammers sat forgotten on the ground.

Leon and Jesse noted it at the same time, forseeing death at the end of this tussle if it got any further.

Jesse lunged for Dom at the same time Leon went for Vince splitting them apart but earning a few bruises themselves.

Vince regained his footing first, shrugging off Leon's hands quickly.

"You think this is okay?" he jabbed a finger between Letty and Dom. "You think you're gunna be all lovey dovey."

"Vin-"

"All the shit I got for liking Mia and you're going around sticking it to her best friend." Vince had a point. "What the fuck is Mia going to say when she finds out?!" he spun to Letty. "You're her best friend and you're stupid enough t-"

"Watch your mouth." Dom growled.

Letty crossed the tarmac, knowing Jesse didn't stand a chance if Dom went for Vince again. Not that she faired any better, but maybe he'd be less inclined to do anything so rash with her next to him.

He didn't even seem to notice in all honestly, Letty could have paraded clowns past him and he wouldn't have turned an eye from Vince.

"Sure." Vince mocked, unzipping his pocket and fishing out his mobile like it was a trophy. He dialled before he could announce anything of who he was dialling. It didn't take a genius and it was confirmed by the annoyed and then concerned feminine that answered with speakerphone to the crowd.

" _What now? Oh god, what happened? Who died? Did someone lose an arm? You know how I feel about blood, don't describe it. But oh god, who is it? Oh god, it better not be Letty, why isn't Letty phoning me? I said you guys shouldn't have power tools. Who in god's green earth gave you electrical tools. Where's Letty? Is she at A &E?!"_

"I'm fine, Mi." Letty spoke out to the device Vince held triumphantly. "Vince is… upset." she worded carefully.

"Fuck I am." Vince growled.

" _If you phoned me to sort out some construction domestic, I am going to hang up. Especially if Vince can't stop_ _ **swearing**_."

"Sorry." Vince uttered. And it was a true apology. He knew how much she hated swearing. The remark just narrowed Dom's eyes though. Still after all this, Vince was still trying to please his little sister. Small fingers latched onto Dom's arm and he finally looked down at them.

Dom didn't smile, not yet, not with how he felt the situation was likely to go. He did angle Letty behind him once more though, fingers touching to her arm so he knew where she was constantly. Ready to fight, ready to protect, ready for whatever was coming between them. "I urgh, got some… news, and you're not gunna like it. But I think you need to know. You deserve to know." he continued, running his sleeve under his mouth as if to expect blood at any moment. Not yet, but there was going to be a bruise there tomorrow.

" _Is it that Dom has no brain? Because I know."_ Mia snapped. There was no music in the background Letty belatedly noted. She must be on her way back to the hotel with Alex.

"There's no easy way of putting this, but he's fuc-" he stopped. "He's uhhh, sleeping with Letty."

The bomb dropped.

Only Letty was holding onto her nerves for Vince's reaction, because Mia's was going to be very unimpressive for him.

" _Are you kidding me?"_ Mia asked slowly. Vince misunderstood.

"Exactly, right!" his righteous grin was about to be wiped straight off.

" _This is what you phoned me about?!"_ The hellkitten began unleashing her tantrum. Letty peered around Dom's guard to see his lips twist in a smile. Vince's bullet had missed entirely. _"You call me whilst I'm at work."_ Lie from Mia. _"To tell me you think I don't know that my best friend in the whole wide world is dating my brother?!"_ She made it seem like the greatest offence committed by man. _"The audacity alone that you think I wouldn't have known this is shocking. The mere fact it took you this long to find out should be shameful. I knew the second it happened."_ Another lie. _"And yes, I know my brother is the world's biggest asshole. But have you noticed he's a little bit less of an asshole when Letty is around. So no, I don't care about your little breakdown, and no I don't want to support your hate campaign."_ Mia continued at full force. _"And if that is all, put your damn phone away and let Letty text me the rest of this interlude in your lives."_ Mia wrapped it up neatly _. "And I swear to all that is Holy, if any of you even go near those paint pots without my say so, I will personally destroy you. It will be royal peacock blue and powder azure, or you will be very, very, very sorry."_ The phone line rang dead as she hung up.

"Well," Ella began in the silence. "I think that wraps up the night nicely, and I'm pretty sure I got powder blue not _azure_ , so we might need to go back for more paint or double check that." she announced to nobody.

"You knew?" Leon asked Jesse.

"I.. uhhh… kinda."

"Listen up." Dom announced. "This is nobody's business what happens between me and Letty. It's not going to affect work, it's not going to change anything."

"She's underaged." Vince was quick to slide in.

"You've got weed in your locker, Vince." Letty snapped. "You can't take the moral highground."

"Does anybody, _except Vince_ , have a problem with this?" Dom barked out, arms folded on his chest.

Silence remained. "Good. Go home, we'll pick this back up another night." Dom ordered. Ella, Jesse and Leon started to move away but they slowed their exit as Dom spoke to Vince again. Intervention may be needed. "You can either deal with this, or you can not bother coming into work." Dom challenged.

"Your dad okay with this?" Again, a finger jabbed out at Letty.

"Yes." Dom spoke intensely. Letty paused to read his features; they were build up with strength and confidence. "Only one with a problem is you."

"Fine." Vince huffed. "But you can't say shit about Mia anymore."

Letty watched Dom's features twitch, aching to lay another punch to the brother he once had. He weighed giving up defence of his sister. He weighed up fighting Vince daily about Letty. She watched his features contort with going against the grain of family.

"Fine."

Vince's hand came out, this time to shake, daring Dom to go back on his word.

"She tells you to stop though, you stop." Dom clarified, hovering his hand just away from Vince.

Vince agreed and it was like the fight never happened, Dom pulled Vince in from the handshake to a short bro-hug. "Go home. This can wait until another day." Dom repeated, stepping to guide Letty back to the Honda Civic where this chaos had begun.

She was still reeling though, locked insider her mind as her feet followed natural steps.

It wasn't over?

Dom had given up family for her.

Was it true?

Did he love her?


	42. Chapter 42

Happy weekend.

I know; i've left you high and dry mid week, but i'm here now. So prepare to get down and wet... that doesn't really work as the opposite of high and dry. I never really understood that expression anyway. But here ya go, another chapter.

And one I just LOVE.

Enjoy :)

* * *

 **Chapter Forty Two: Is it Love?**

Saturday, Letty was heading to his doorstep the second he text to say he was home. She'd showered, dressed in her only matching underwear and had even highlighted her dress's colours with a hint of make-up Mia had insisted she have. For important occasions.

This definitely qualified.

Letty expected to find him greet her enthusiastically in the kitchen, praise her choice of skater dress for easy access and to be hiked up to curl possessively around his body, prepared to be taken to new sexual heights.

She imagined hands would be under her clothes faster than she could ramble out questions about work. Mainly if Vince had caused trouble with the aftermath.

She was fully expectant of soaking panties as he cradled her, lips exploring her body at speed as she purred desperately for him.

So she definitely did not expect him to wrap his fingers around his car keys instead of her body.

She didn't know what to do when he pressed a kiss to her cheek and slotted his hand with hers, towing her out of the door and back to the driveway.

"What's wrong?" she asked. The black combat boots suited her style perfectly, but they did not suit the trip hazard his unpredicted path faced.

She stumbled on the doorstep, both her hands clasping onto his arm.

He grinned a little, tugging the door to lock itself behind them.

"Think you upset Vince, yesterday." Dom spoke, tone light and jovial.

"What, why?" Letty was led to the passenger side and the door opened for her. She stopped her automatic response to get in. "Is he mad?"

"Grumpy." Dom shrugged. "Said he had something he wanted to do tonight to cheer him up though. Probably involves violence or that Simone chic that he keeps texting." Dom smiled wide, Vince obviously didn't bother him that much with his bad mood then.

"Oh." Letty's brain caught up with her legs and once more took in the car. "Where are we going?"

"Get in." he laughed, walking around to the other side and seating himself.

"I thought we were staying in." Letty asked again as he rolled his shoulders in his black leather jacket, finding his comfort in the new drivers seat.

"Killer Look is out." Dom explained.

Killer Look was the third movie in the hired gun series; Killer for Hire had been the first blockbuster, Killer Hunt, was the sequel that had broken all trends of sequels being worse that originals, and thus came Killer Look. The male/female pair of assassins with sexual tension thick enough to cut with a knife, weapons that put mobsters to shame and missions that dared to test all reality and adrenaline junkie nerves. It was hyped up to be the best trilogy created.

"It's been out for weeks." Letty protested, taking a glimpse back at the house as he pulled out. Letty had read enough spoilers that she hadn't been too fussed to watch it at the time, she figured Dom had the same affliction.

"Empty cinema." he stated, the explanation missing from his words.

"Is there a problem with the delivery?" she asked, putting together the only threads of evidence she had. In all logic, she should be half naked on his bed, fighting with his stupid belt to get somewhere pleasurable. She could be arched against him, fingers inside her. She could be driven mad by a vibrator as he did so promise.

Instead she was watching cars go past, being taken further and further from her night of pleasure.

"Nope." His hand reached out, easily finding place on her thigh, under the camo green dress. "You look nice." It was a tame compliment, but it suited. She did look nice. She looked like any civil 'normal' girl that a guy would pick up for a date. One that would say please and thankyou and touch up her make-up at the ladies. One that would kiss sweet and innocent.

"I thought we were staying in." She rolled her eyes and turned to the window again.

"But you dressed up for me." She caught the flash of his smile over her shoulder and decided not to point out that he had asked her to dress up and his decision was not based over what she turned up in. He probably would have dragged her out if she had turned up in her pyjamas.

The sadist had a plan.

"Vince say anything else about last night?" she probed. Maybe Vince had said something that had changed Dom's plans with his box of tricks.

"Stomped around the garage for the first three hours muttering about hypocrisy."

"He say anything?"

"We took the rest of the wall out together over lunch. He refused to lift any of the debris, said I owed him for slacking off last night."

"And?"

"Whatdya want Letty." Dom laughed. "He got it out of his system last night. He's not going to sit down and tell me we hurt his precious feelings."

"I'll get Mia to text him before he does anything stupid." Letty answered, knowing the male ego did not take such an insult so well. Her mobile was plucked from her hands though, smuggled into the jacket pocket furthest from her by capable lazy hands. "Hey!"

"Not tonight. You're all mine." He grinned, swatting at her as she attempted to rob him.

"I expected to be all yours, naked on your bed." Letty muttered grumpily, a light playfulness remaining in her tone.

"I was toying with the idea of the couch actually." he admitted with a smile, fingers on her thigh stroking higher in tease before resting back modestly. Well as modest as two lovers could go in semi-public.

"So why are you taking me to see some stupid spoiled movie?!"

"Because we deserve to see this instead of living through spoilers." He covered the real reason with a truth that didn't apply.

"Are you at least going to tell me what you bought?"

"Don't worry Letty, your handcuffs came. I know you were begging for them."

"I wasn-"

"Your body was." he corrected quickly. "The way you wriggle under me. You should learn some manners." he teased.

"Somethings up with you." she assumed. "Did someone say something?" maybe it wasn't Vince.

"I'm never going to get 100% trust, am I?" he asked, already knowing the answer. "So, I can settle for high 80's, with a little bit of punishment."

"Punishment?! What for?!"

"Hey, it was your idea. Besides, don't you wanna try out a little wild side?" he taunted. "We both know you finished that bondage porn book." Letty blushed red, they _both_ did not know that. Letty was relatively sure she covered that quite well.

"And this will get rid of your idea of your feelings for me?"

"No, but it might help soften the blow of you not trusting me with your heart, if you trust me with your body." Letty felt like he'd picked the line out of a girly magazine, but there was logic, however slim, there.

"I do." Letty replied honestly. Dom would never hurt her, never do anything with her that she didn't 100% want. She trusted him to keep her safe and happy.

"Yeah?" he questioned. "I want you to remember that." Then, as he slowed from the red light of the roundabout, the one that took forever to change, he appeared inspired. "Actually, I think you could do with a reminder of something else as well." he thought aloud, fishing a pen from the inner console. "Arm." he requested. Letty rolled her eyes but extended her arm for the temporary tattoo he was planning.

The pen tickled as it rolled across her inner wrist quick and neat.

"Dom loves me." she read aloud from her skin, the red ink of the pen showing against her skin like a blood oath.

It sat there, bold and beautiful. But he hadn't ever said it. The words had never left his lips. He could write them, he could imply them, he could follow the act very well. But… he didn't say them.

But, did it make it any less true?

Letty wasn't overly comfortable with the taste of them on her tongue. Perhaps it was the same for Dom.

Letty felt the words on her skin drain all of her focus and attention, swallowing her whole.

Were they true? Truly true?

"You seem to keep forgetting."

And there was Dom's grim, a flash of a smile shot out to blast away all of the maybe's and overly analysed words.

It brought her back to the moment, to the two of them sat before a red light, nobody else. Just Letty and Dom. It drew her lips in a smile, flirty mood returned.

"Yeah well, your memory isn't perfect either." She held her hand out and he passed her back the pen while the stop light remained lit, his jacket sleeve pushed up as far as it could go and arm extended.

Letty scrawled her handwriting as neat as possible, not that Dom even flinched with a tickle like she had. She shoved him his hand back and dropped the pen back into cup holder.

 _Fuck your girlfriend_

Was written on him, identically to where he had penned her.

"Ah, yes, I knew there was something I kept forgetting." he mocked her.

The banter was kept up all the way through the drive, the parking, the tickets and snack decision choices, all the way into their seats as the adverts played to the empty cinema.

Letty was just about to complain about his popcorn bucket having more in than hers when he swapped them for her, knowing she would only steal his if not.

She beamed at him, taking a handful of popcorn into her mouth.

"Remember how much you trust me?"

"I don't think it's written on me anywhere, I could have forgotten." she teased, good mood in bloom from the extra popcorn deed.

"You wanna try a toy?" his smirk was back, twisted for the screen as he leaned closer to her.

"Tonight?"

"or now…" he offered, turning his phone in his hands, laying the perfect trap for the horny girlfriend.

"Seriously?" she scanned the empty cinema. What was he playing at?

"Seriously."

"What is it?" Hands dusted of popcorn flavouring she leaned over to scan Dom for any possible sex toy he had hidden.

"Something for you, a little something for me." he teased, now leaning over the arm rest. "You wanna give it a go?"

Letty felt all logic say no, but fun said yes, Dom's grin said yes. Letty's untouched libido said 'fuck yes'. She nodded at him.

Dom passed his jacket over to her.

"Go to the ladies. Left pocket." Her hands went straight to the pocket, he caught it and rolled his eyes. "Your mobile is in my other pocket, text me if you need any further instruction." he smirked.

Letty grilled him with her eyes and defiantly stood, shrugging his jacket onto her arms, his cologne wrapping around her. She breathed deep as she purposefully slid past him with chest as close as possible and followed the signs to the ladies as the adverts beckoned you to sign up to their VIP cinema cards.

Letty shut herself in a stall and fished into his left pocket. Her fingers wrapped around a small egg shaped device. She didn't know what she had been expecting but it wasn't this. Letty turned it up and down, rotating it in her hands, there was no button, just a looped cord on it. She reclaimed her mobile.

 _What do I do with it?_

Dom's reply was instantaneous.

 _It goes inside you._

Letty rose an eyebrow but the egg looked slim enough to fit. Not that there was an issue with lubrication, Dom had sorted that out with his stupid smirk a minute ago. Letty shuffled around and did as Dom so often did, pushing aside her panties to expose herself, she squatted a little and experimentally rubbed the smooth egg over herself. It felt a little cold, a little odd but nothing unpleasant. With a push, she implanted the egg, the cord the only evidence anything had changed. Letty re-arranged her underwear to cover herself and the cord and straightened up. She felt the egg wriggle deeper inside her, her muscles moving it with each motion of her legs.

Fear blindly panicked her, what if it got lost inside her? She slid a finger back inside her underwear but the cord was still there, lengthy enough to solidly grab and withdraw.

Letty rotated her hips a little until it felt like the egg had settled.

Mia had said something about weighted balls once before, maybe it was like that?

Letty checked her dress once more and stepped back out of the ladies, hiding her blush in Dom's collared jacket.

She returned to her seat to notice there was another couple, far from them, thankfully on the other side of the cinema. They were already cutesy cuddling.

Letty had felt the egg move inside her with every step, surely, by Dom's smile, he must have known she hadn't backed down.

"Comfortable?" he asked cheekily, grabbing her hand as she stumbled striding over his long legs.

"What is it?" she questioned in a hushed whisper.

He held up one finger, the understood sign to wait and Letty took her seat as he pulled out his phone, one hand skilled to unlock and pull up whatever he was showing her, most probably the internet site that would display said object. His other hand looped over her shoulder, pulling her into him.

Letty was just getting bored of Dom taking so long to load up a webpage, she'd turned back to watch the cartoon soda dance with the popcorn when she jolted upright, a blast of energy filling her, a deep buzzing had started inside her.

She whipped her head to Dom who was badly smothering a smirk.

Letty clenched her thighs against the powered vibrator and squeezed her hands on the seat rests.

As quickly as it came, it was gone. Pulsation had stopped and left a sweep ebb of tension washed over her spine.

She relaxed out and Dom turned the mobile into her view.

The screen was dimmed to not glare out in the darkness of the room, but it was legible.

There, on screen was a short sharp peak that had now flatlined.

Dom was 100% in control of the egg, Bluetooth connected from his phone.

He dragged the dial on the bottom of the screen up again, thumb rising with the slider and Letty felt her breath stolen once more. She jabbed out a hand to the controls only to find Dom lift the phone out of her reach. The arm over her shoulders pulled her in, stealing her in a kiss to pair with the absent thumb that rose up and down in syncronisity to the motions of his tongue.

The egg had toyed with her just enough when he nipped her bottom lip between her teeth and then it died once more, her partner withdrawing.

She opened her eyes back to the cinema, another couple walking down the aisle deep in conversation. Letty felt her cheeks burn red.

She watched the couple walk further and further from them, none the wiser to what had transpired between the cuddled up couple a breath away from each other.

To anybody else, they would look just like teens on a date, unable to keep their lips apart.

She turned her eyes up to meet his.

They were wild and sparkling, filled with a twisted edge that gave her sensations that rivalled the egg at full blast.

"You wanna play, Let?" he asked quietly, giving her all the power, the option to say no. To turn back, watch the movie, forget about the toy inserted into her.

But the stillness in the egg was creating an ache, one that cried that she missed what had been there before.

Her eyes flashed to the only other people in the cinema. "They won't even know." he whispered to her. "You're mine Letty. I'm not sharing your pleasure with them."

His words were sharpened with possession that should have frightened her.

It should have rang alarm bells.

It should have done anything but pound her heartbeat in her ears and soak her panties. But that's what it did.

So she found herself nodding quickly, earning a bright toothy smile.

"After?" she asked. What happened when they got out of here? Was his pact gone if she played along like a good girlfriend? When she was drunk on lust and desperate for him? Would be punish her further, leave her begging?

"Depends." he purred, lips brushing her ear. "I can finger you in the back of my car." She swallowed her spiked lust. The egg wasn't on, but it sure felt like a bolt of electric had just hit her clit with his words. "Or, if you can wait, I'll spread you on my bed and eat you out until you scream."

Letty's insides clenched, praying her to have the patience to wait.

"I can wait." Letty promised, clashing with his eyes again, arousal bloomed hard and fast.

* * *

Letty had a single track mind by the time the credits rolled. Dom cockily stated he had gone easy with her, keeping it low, only turning it up during fight scenes when music and explosions covered her whimpers. He guided her out of the chair and kept both hands to stabilise her jelly legs as he walked them out of the hall. She hadn't been able to focus for large portions of the movie, too busy trying to predict the next wave of vibrations he would give her, too distracted in clutching his hand and trying to figure out a way to discreetly orgasm in the middle off a cinema without anybody noticing. Not that the other couples saw anything other than their partners tongues.

"Ready to go home?" Dom asked as they hit the cooler air, wrapping her close to him as he guided her back to the civic.

The pins and needles were sparkling all the way from her thighs to her feet wrapped in her high heeled boots. Every step was like Bambi's first, but there was a god holding her tight, a god that had teased her all of the movie up and down, up and down. "Think you can make it?" he continued, and the reason why he had parked so far away suddenly made sense, far from anybody else to peer in.

God she wanted it. She wanted him to drag the jacket off her, slide her dress down and seal his mouth to her nipples, fingers replacing the god damn tease that was the egg and finally getting her off behind a cinema, screaming out to the heavens in his new car.

"There better be a male equivalent of this." she bit out as he cockily spun her to the passenger side when she didn't answer.

"Yeah, it's called you." he chuckled.

"I'm serious." she bit out, finally reconstructing her brain to open the car door.

"So am I." he met her in the car, settled into the driver's seat once more. "You haven't had to work with you. Sticking your ass in the air over the hood of a car, stretching out your arms and legs like you're warming up for a sex marathon. Sucking your damn lollypops and making me wish it was me. Every weekend was sexual torment from you. And that…" he nodded to the cinema. "Fucking hell Letty. I've been hard since you sat back down next to me. Fuck it, I've been thinking about it all day. You don't wanna know how hard it is to change a tyre with a hard on."

Letty managed a breath of a laugh but her thoughts were all in one direction; ways to get Dom to fuck her here and now. "I think you can manage a few more minutes to get back to a bed."

"You're kidding me, right?" she complained. "Can't you just fuck me? Real quick. Just take the edge off?"

"Not the deal, Letty." His eyes flashed to the backseat before he pulled out his phone again.

"You're not touching that until we get back." Letty insisted, swatting for him. She didn't think she could last that long.

"Just returning a text to Jesse." He held up his free hand in innocence, a smile on his lips.

The vibe remained off and Letty managed a calming breath.

All her blood in her body was pulsating between her legs, begging for a touch, for a kiss, anything to start a cataclysmic chain of events ending in the best orgasm possible. "Besides, if you behave for the ride, you can keep my jacket." he bartered, tapping out the return text.

"You're going straight there?" she wasn't agreeing to anything where there wasn't 100% clarity.

"I'll only stop for reds." he swore.

"Okay." she agreed, watching his smile hit his eyes once more.

He hit send.

"I don't deserve you, Let." His smirk was back, the one that had her replaying her agreement for fine print.

She watched him hesitate over his phone and Letty felt the sinking feeling drag her down. "Did you know it comes with other features too?"

"You can play when we get back." she bartered, knowing the glint in his eye was nothing good for her control over her supercharged libido.

"It even varies in intensity by itself. Got pre-programmed patterns you can select." he continued, but his hand started the car, the other setting the phone in the socket by the driver's door.

Letty breathed a sigh of relief. "You'll have to let me know what Pulse feels like."

Letty felt the vibrator start up fast and powerful and she realised he hadn't dropped the phone from his touch, only made it seem so.

As quick as it had started, it was gone, a moment of peace and back again. Just as fast, just as fearsome, just as drugging to her system. On and off, it repeated the sensations.

"You… bastard." she bit out around the waves of pleasure.

"I'll make it worth it." he laughed, pulling out of the parking space.

* * *

Dom had his hands full of Letty as he juggled keys to open the door. His phone was back in his pocket, the pulse programme still playing strong. Her moans and swears words were the auditory accompaniment to let him know just when she was up and when she was down. Her lips were seeking anywhere to place themselves on skin. Her hips were grinding him in ways far too indecent to even be seen at the races. She'd found his hard-on through his jeans 3 seconds ago and all of her attention was for freeing him, to have him, to guide him to her, to be in her.

Dom had to push her through the open door, detaching for almost a full second before she was back, the privacy of the four walls letting her tug on his shirt, drag one leg up to his thigh, no doubt flashing her underwear. It was then he felt the vibrations as her core crushed against his.

He lifted her from the floor, away from his aching cock and to feel the buzzing against his belly instead. It didn't help as much as he thought.

"Letty, stairs, be-" His attempts to calm the fire in her loins, to break for even just the staircase was sabotaged, one leg dropping from him, pressing against the back of his knee and dropping them both inelegantly, but purposefully, to the floor where the carpet of the living room met the laminate.

"Touch me." she pleaded in a whisper, taking his hands to her breasts, a bold move that she wouldn't have done if not so high on her lust. "Please."

"You wet, Letty?" A pointless question, of course she was.

"Dom. I'm going crazy, please, touch me." Her eyes, drunk on want, pleaded with his soul.

He caved instantly, it was happening here.

He turned with her, pressing her back to the carpet rather than the cold hallway, fingers diving between her legs to confirm just how wet she was.

Fucking soaked.

He could smell her arousal as he pushed the panties aside, finger looped in the band that held the device buzzing on and off in her.

"Yes, please. Please." she mewled, arching her back as she felt the torturous device being tugged out.

"You sure, Let?" he couldn't help but tease, holding the device in limbo, half in, half out, at breach of her sanity.

He earned the nip she made to his neck, feeling it bite in the back of his spine and he pulled the device free against the wet suction.

It vibrated noisily against the laminate, on and off.

Letty didn't care, her legs were up and over his back.

"Fuck me, please. Please, I swear, I know you want me, you love me and it's okay. Just please fuck me." Her rambling trickled out of her at speed. "Please, please fuck me."

He wanted to.

God, did he want to.

So he shoved her dress up over her hips, dragging her red panties, no doubt they would match a red bra on top, and left her naked from the waist down.

The legs snaking back against him found his strong hold guiding them over his shoulders and he heard her head drop back to the floor with a thump as he pressed a kiss to her sex.

"Fuck." she breathed harshly, hips rolling to find him again.

Pointer and second fingers parted her folds, tongue tracing between the two licking a light line up her slit. "Fucking hell. Oh god Dom." Her fingers grabbed at his head and shoulder. He repeated it once, twice, three times more and she had turned to a soggy babbling mess of empty promises she wouldn't remember making.

He slid his hands under her ass cheeks and pulled her tight to him, mouth sealing over her sex as he dove his tongue in deep, mimicking what she begged for, letting her grind on his chin as he drank her deep.

She tasted better than she usually did, pent up sexual tension doing wonders for whatever self-esteem issues remained and finally freeing her to beg and plead for what she truly wanted.

Him.

He closed his eyes, feeling her motions, riding them with her, sucking and swirling his tongue inside her, her sex vice tight as she reacted to him.

She arched up from the carpet, moving against him, closer and closer.

He took a hand down his own body, yanking free the belt and wrapping his fingers around his hard length.

His plan had one flaw; it got him just as hot as she was.

His lips sealed around her clit and sucked hard. She came. Hard.

Bucking against his face, she moaned his name, heels digging into his back as she tensed tight.

She cried out as he dove back to her sex, diving into the juices she made once more, sealing her to him with one hand, the other speeding over his length, knowing just what he needed to get him right where he was so close too.

She squealed in over sensitivity as he gave one final suck to her clit, spilling himself into his hand.

Their breathing became the only sound in the room.

Until they both focussed in on the on and off vibrations on the hallway floor.

Both sets of eyes turned to the purple egg making its way across the laminate in short bursts.

Letty laughed, slapping a hand over her mouth as she looked away.

With a groan, Dom slid the mobile from his back pocket and turned off the vibe, letting the mobile drop to the floor to join it, instantly forgotten.

"I hate you." Letty breathed in a sharp exhale.

"You love me." Dom answer smartly, rolling onto his back and pulling her by her legs to rest next to him, her dress sliding her easily on the carpet.

"Bastard." she bit back, curling against him.

Their breaths filled the air in time, slowly calming their systems back to normal.


	43. Chapter 43

You guys! You're just absolutely lovely, thank you for the reviews and the time you take to write them :)

So, I got a few pleas/begs/questions in my reviews and I just felt I would clear some things over. But, I don't wanna chuck out any spoilers that will ruin my plot, so... from what i've received, I can say 98% of my viewers should like how this ends. Of course you can't please everybody but the concensus begs have already been met with my storyline.

So just stick with me please :)

Lastly, work has decided it wants some attention to the mess the recent 'update' created and i'm falling behind on my writing. I can only commit to a chapter a week to keep up my pace and ensure you don't suffer any long periods without an update. This story WILL be finished, and I am aiming to post every weekend(ish). I've got up to chapter 47 cleaned and primed. I just need the weekly update delay to ensure I can keep this flowing at a good rate. I hope that made sense.

So, until next weekend, please enjoy Chapter 43.

* * *

 **Chapter Forty Three: All Guns Blazing**

The races.

It was an answer to so many problems for the workers of Friday night.

Dom had instructed the boys to put tools down; they had done a beautiful chunk, but now, they needed something arguably more important.

More staff.

Initial audition was a simple look under the hood, parting the boys from the men.

So they fanned out across the crowds of Friday night.

They swarmed under headlights and engine roars, hunting for a particular someone.

Letty watched from atop Dom's hood, hypnotised by the way Ella sauntered her way down the line of cars, heels clicking with each elegant sway of her hips. Every man in the place was hoping she would stop by their car with her short shorts and tied top tee.

She had purposefully pulled out the bobble that held her hair and shook it in all the right ways.

The seductress raked her eyes over the goods the boys displayed, passing by each hopeful only to pause by something eye catching. If it was worthy, her heels would stop for more than a few seconds.

Then she'd press up to the driver, ask him who did his work, ask him if he knew his way around it if he claimed it to be his own. Test a few questions about its running specs and then Ella would turn around hand over her hip and ask him to come interview for Toretto's crew.

Well, that was the plan she had vocalised in the car ride over.

She was putting it into effect in a way that made Letty burn with envy.

She wanted to wear that kind of confidence with each sway of a sexy hip.

She wanted to challenge a man to his knees and then have him beg to work with her.

Instead, she had Toretto leaning against the hood she sat on, eyes busy working over the crowd.

He wasn't racing tonight.

That wasn't the aim.

It was all about fresh blood, and Dom wanted the best of the best.

Personality meeting talent in a humble style.

He was asking for a lot, yet he remained eyes only, stuck to Letty's side, in case.

They were going good, the relationship still wasn't public at the races; Dom had enough competitors that they would cause trouble in a heartbeat.

But that meant Dom was keeping her within arms reach, in case the wrong person thought she was single and up for dating.

He could correct them, as a protector, of course.

Keeping _his_ prize _his_.

"You look like a guard dog." Letty rolled her eyes, shoving at his shoulder. "Lighten up."

"Lighten up, coming from you." he jibed back, passing the words backwards to her.

"Yeah, just think of whatever other trick you got in your box of fun." she teased easily, her secondhand Vans nudging at his thigh.

"You're insatiable." he chuckled, crossing his arms on his chest.

"I've got some sexy underwear I want to put on. Someone isn't giving me a reason." It was clear from another nudge the _someone_ was indeed the man sucking on his tongue trying not to bite at her comments.

"Do I need to give you another lesson in using your own fingers?" he mocked.

"No. But someone needs me to tattoo another reminder of pleasing his girlfriend on him, clearly."

He chuckled in response. "You gunna tell me what else was in that box?"

"Maybe."

"Dom." She kicked his thigh again, harder this time.

"Depends how adventurous you wanna get." he spoke, batting a hand at her kicking foot in chastisement.

"Is there a le-"

"Hey Dom, you got a second?" Letty was interrupted by a small brunette in cowboy boots and modest dress. Modest compared to the usual sluts.

"Uhhh, yeah."

Dom took a quick look at Letty before pushing off the car and walking the girl out of Letty's earshot.

Naturally, she only felt compelled to listen in.

Which wouldn't work for her current distance.

But there was Dom, glancing over his shoulder to make sure Letty had stayed pinned where she was.

Letty focussed her eyes on the girl's lips, trying and failing to read the discussion.

Curiosity drew her legs back to the floor, it slid her from the hood and it pulled her into listening distance.

"-Did he say?" Dom had asked, his tones deep and serious. If she wasn't mistaken, she'd say worried. No, concerned.

"False positive. It can happen if you've got an infection or something."

"Are you okay?"

The girl breathed out a heavy sigh.

"It's a bit of a relief to be honest. I don't want you to take that wrong but all that responsibility…"

"No, that's… yeah."

"I know. We didn't really expect it, and I feel like such an idiot."

"It's not your fault. I should have thought."

"I'm sure it's saved you a few awkward conversations." The girl laughed an awkward sound. "I, uh, just wanted to say thanks for not ditching me and making sure I'd be okay with whatever happened."

"Of course."

"You're a good man, would have been a good father." She placed a hand to his shoulder and turned back to the crowds.

Letty watched Dom's shoulders breathe out a long, slow breath. Then he turned around to find a hard line on his silent spectator's lips.

He found eyes staring into his with a cold depth.

Logical was sliding in between the foggy confusion and she didn't like the conclusion she was drawing.

Dom saw the pre-emptive fists curling in teenage palms and immediately set himself on the defensive side of aggression.

"You planning to listen to all of my private conversations?" he asked, pushing back to his car.

"Just the ones that affect me." she snapped back, easily following him.

"You're over-reacting." he chastised and re-routed them further from the crowds, knowing this would not end quietly.

"No, over-reacting would be kicking you in the nuts and bashing in the could-have-been _pregnant_ bitch you told me nothing about." Letty's tone bit at his heels, drawing eyes, thankfully not the focus of ears. Yet. "And I really really want to be over-reacting, so don't fucking test me. What the hell was that Dom?" Stern and hard she chased his lengthening strides away from the public, down the alleys into the darkness.

An emotionless cold was echoing through her body, a ripple of heartbreak stemming from a drop of overheard conversations.

This was why he hadn't fucked her.

This was why he wasn't on her like the jack rabbit he used to be.

This was why he was crossing his legs like a virgin before the wedding night.

Because he might have a little Dom junior growing in someone else.

Some one night bitch that could have been mother to his child.

He couldn't possibly take such a risk with Letty too, right?

Letty felt the heat flare through her body, yet an icy grip took her tongue.

"What did you plan?" she demanded, tugging on his arm for answers. "You'd run off with her?" she challenged as he finally stopped his steps. "Pay her for her silence?" he didn't react. "Deny everything? Or maybe move her in and play happy families?" His eyes flashed to their surroundings but he said nothing. "You'd have to kick the mistress to the kerb, so thank God you didn't sleep with me." She shoved at his chest, she needed his reaction, needed his rationale, something to make it hurt less, to make her accusations untrue.

He took grip of her hands as they came back for another shove, throwing them back down to her sides.

"Rein it in, alright." The alley smelled of piss, used more by druggies than sluts and blissfully empty as he stepped further from the questionable dumpster odour.

"Y-"

"I was doing the right thing." he pressed before she could conjure any more scenarios.

Letty's emotions whipped from icy glare to fierce villainy in a sharp split.

"The right thing?" she repeated. "You mean by not risking raising two kids by two different bitches at the same time? Yes, very noble." she sneered.

"What was I meant to do Letty?" he snapped. "Rita told me she'd missed a period, she told me she'd had a test come back positive. I wa-"

"You ask her how many other guys have DNA roulette going on."

"She figured it was a false positive. She said she'd made an appointment and would tell me when she knew for sure. That was all that was Letty."

"And me?! What was your reason for not touching me?!"

But the silence only spoke what they already knew; he wasn't risking it again. "So you just lied to me. Told me it was all about your stupid feelings." she spat. "And you know what, I fucking believed you, like an idiot." She shook her head down at herself. How could she believe a man was holding back because of his _feelings_?! Men felt with their dick and their dick alone. This one just didn't want to risk a baby mama and a girlfriend being mutually exclusive.

"You think it was easy for me?!" he cut back.

"I'm so sorry you were in a difficult position your manwhore behaviour trapped you in. I'm sorry you had to resist fucking me. But I am so so sorry, that you think this," her fingers jabbed between herself and him. "was going to survive that."

"Letty, for god's sake, trust me wh-"

"Trust you?!" she spat, hands shoving him back and out of her exit. "How the fuck am I meant to trust you?!"

"I'm the closest you ever got to letting someone in." His words came out in hurt, lashing back at her. Pointing out how little she gave to anybody, anybody at all.

"And look what happened." she huffed. "You know what, you finally completed your mission." A mission from long ago, promised to her in a car that no longer lived, an agreement that she had forgotten she should stick to. "You said you'd prove to me that you'd never be able to love me. And that with it. I'd finally stop wanting you." Her words were single fingers, each one pressing to his heart, stealing a piece of him as it squeezed. "Congratulations. You were right." She pushed past him.

* * *

Saturday burned her heart.

Sunday saw tears on her pillow.

But Monday was abnormally quiet.

Tuesday was acceptably turbulent.

Wednesday was rightfully passive aggressive.

And Thursday was filled with episodes of eye contact so harsh and malicious it was a miracle nobody was seriously injured in the crossfire.

Which led to Friday, the last one she'd have to spend alone before Mia came home.

Dom had met with various mechanics throughout the day. He still was.

He was in with the latest and most promising potential hire, discussing something at length.

The build was a few weeks off completion and Mr T had given the go ahead to start meeting a few mechanics that could fit.

The names had been supplied and proved by the current residents at the garage.

"He's a dark horse, Jesse." Leon was commented, leaning on a broom handle as he peered at the window of the office.

This current interviewee was hand picked by Jesse. His name had come up a few times when Jesse had asked a few good riders who had suited and booted their vehicle. He was difficult to track down actually. Lived out of state.

"It's too far for him to travel and he isn't exactly up to relocating. You said he was legal guardian for his sister." Ella piped up from the battery replacement on the Impala.

"He'd prefer it than staying working IT." Jesse argued. "It'd be worth the travel."

"Hey!" Vince snapped. "You idiots finished playing guess the bonehead to replace you?"

"Just because your choice got veto'd."

"He was a good mechanic." Vince argued

"With a bad criminal record." Ella added with a smile.

"Like we don't." Vince grumbled under his breath. "S'not fair." he muttered.

A text alert came through to all their phones, the group chat on the receiving end. They were all fast to pick it up, hoping it was Dom sending a 'we've found the holy grail' text from the interview.

It wasn't Dom.

It was the younger Toretto.

She issued a harsh warning for what would happen if they were not ready for the painting this week.

Letty laughed softly from where she was sat in the impala, fixing the battered wiring. This car had been through hell and back. The owners were a couple of brothers, a little odd, and a little more than suspicious for a few crimes of their own if she was honest. Ella swore one of them had mentioned something about a Colt Revolver in a whisper to the other.

Needless to say, they wanted to be rid of them ASAP.

"We're not ready for paint yet." Vince spoke, a hair of panic to his voice.

"We don't even have the rolling shutter in." Leon laughed adding to Vince's rising panic.

"The tidy isn't even up yet." Jesse furthered the coronary.

"The window glass needs putting in." Letty's voice slid in, she'd been working near the glass all day, it had been high alert of smashing with a misplaced elbow.

"Mia said she wanted all of the electrics sorted too." Ella softly offered.

"We need to get this sorted. Tonight." Vince announced quickly, decision made.

"I can give you an extra hour, but I've got a date." Ella started the ball rolling, the group patching in hours as they could. Letty fired off a text to her mother than she was working late and as the darkness crept closer Letty's attention was singularly focussed into the back room, sorting out the 'tidy'.

The sounds of men at work were drown out by the vocal chords of Queen and she was in text updates to Mia as she sat on the floor surrounded by the old boxes of all shapes and sizes that held the odds and ends of the business.

The dump-it box of nuts and washers was once an ice-cream carton.

The miscellaneous box had been a cardboard box once housing baby wipes that nobody dared to dig through unless desperate.

Mia had seen a wall mount cubby with uniform colour coded organisation and it had been agreed by Mr T. It would save a lot of time to have this level of organisation.

Mia had pushed for a label maker and her OCD ordering had been approved.

Letty was knee deep in it.

Letty has currently working on the wheely tool box while her phone alerted her to the latest Mia gossip.

 _I only have this weekend left. I want to make our last night together special. Like special special. The special Dom would kill me for if he read it on your phone._

Mia was once again plotting her virginity leaving her.

 _You sure this is what you want? No take backs. No big brother to interrupt. 100% going to happen, are you good with this?_

Letty might not be the best person to discuss this with, especially considering her bitterness towards Dom surrounding it. But she could be the therapy that asked the important questions.

 _I was thinking to myself last night how much I regretted it not happened the last time I got close. I've been hoping Alex would bring it up these last few weeks. But I think he's waiting for me too. So… I think I'm ready._

Letty stretched out to a Torque wrench that really had no business being in the small toolbox. Vince had chosen that time to start up a drum solo on something metal, beating out the sound of Queen once more. She presumed Leon and Jesse had left earlier; they wouldn't stand for Vince's musical talents, or complete lack there of.

She'd secured a lift home with Vince and assumed Dom had left after the interviews had finished. Jesse said he'd invited the guy back to meet the full crew and Mr T on a tester day. It looked good for this guy. Jesse was happy with his choice. Dom seemed to be too, or at least that's what Jesse said earlier.

Letty looked down at the mess on the floor. She still had a long way to go. Maybe she could leave it as is and come back to it tomorrow?

Although it was Saturday and she wasn't meant to be in.

Maybe if she set up all the labels the boys would finished it Saturday when they were in?

She highly doubted it, and Mia had no faith in leaving them with her label maker lest all the tools be labelled up with 'for anal use only' or something else childish and male-hilarious.

Letty rested against the wall and pulled out another message to her best friend.

 _You want me to call you when I'm home?_

The reply was fast, it came with out of tune battering of something metal, probably courtesy of Vince's bad musical timing.

 _You're still there?! Go home._

Letty rolled her eyes as the drum solo overlapped the song's guitar riff. It was off-beat entirely though. Vince was massacring this. Someone needed to teach the man musicality.

 _I'm halfway through the wall tidy. If I leave now, the boys will mess it up and I'll have to start over._

And that would just take more time that it would take now. Besides, Vince would have stuck his head in to yell at her to leave by now if he was ready.

He was probably fussing over the windows.

He had propelled himself at maximum effort to ensure Mia's plan would be executed on time.

 _Ella's in tomorrow, she'll do a good job. Leave her a note._

The suggestion did have merits. Ella wouldn't purposefully mess up the order Letty had already made. With the labels made, Ella would pick up where she left off.

 _I'll grab Vince to finish up. Call you when I'm in. Battery's flashing death._

An acknowledgement came back through and Letty pressed another print for the label maker.

'We will rock you' ended suddenly, music screetching and dying.

Letty paused in the alarming quiet before voices took over, an argumentative tone but words muffled through the walls.

Had Leon or Jesse come back?

Letty rolled her eyes and made her way to the main room to yell at Vince for trashing the stereo. He might have size 13 boots, but he could not crush her music taste under them.

Not that it was even her selection tonight.

But she was halfway through belting out the lyrics, mentally of course, Letty did not sing. She did want to finish her song though.

She saw two black motorcycle jackets though. Snakes sewn into the leather. The arms stretched out with crowbars in hands, smashing them against the machinery and possessions.

Letty took a reactive step back, securing her footing and advantage.

The hell was happening?

Bolstered, she stepped back, curled around the wall to peer out.

Where was Vince?

Her eyes flashed out the window to her left to the build he'd been working on.

There was nobody walking in sight.

No Vince.

Fucking hell.

Letty scouted around and grabbed the first weapon she could find, the Torque Wrench resting atop the old tub of gleaning gel for grease, one that had been hidden behind an enamel paint from six years ago (if the date scrawled on it was accurate).

Armed, she scanned the scene again. The snakes pulling items from walls in an entirely non-Mia approved way. A counterpart was leaning over something, half hidden by the recovery truck, half sheltered by Land Rover that needed an entire suspension review. But Letty saw the boots on the floor, the boots struggling to find purchase. Ones that looked oddly like size 13's pinned to the floor and taking a battering.

Fuck sake Vince.

Why tonight?!

Letty palmed her mobile but the low battery signal was repeatedly flashing.

Instead, she gripped her courage, wielded the wrench defensively and as quietly as possible she made her way from the back, to the wall of the office, behind the backs of the trashing gang members, away from the eyes of their violent associate.

In a hail mary, Letty rose up to peer into the office, maybe Dom had stayed to finish up some work? She could do with the extra muscle.

But of course, he would have heard and be halfway through battering the intruders.

Empty.

She wasn't surprised.

He had other things to do.

Like get someone else pregnant.

And not tell her.

Just when she needed him.

Asshole.

The speech was clearer where she crouched down, she could hear words, sentences, meaning.

"You think this wasn't coming back? That we wouldn't know it was you?" the abuser mocked, giving a reprieve as Vince's boots rolled over and a hacking cough slipped out, a wet sounding one, like blood was spat out too.

Jesus Christ Vince.

He better be in a state to help her.

She couldn't take three of them by herself.

But she wasn't leaving Vince here.

Letty kept low and padded around the recovery truck. She was a short distance from the asshole on the other side of the landrover, a short distance from Vince.

The other two were still preoccupied on trashing the stereo with crowbars.

Their noise made it easy to round the recovery truck entirely.

Letty stopped suddenly, a body in her way, almost tripping her flat on her face.

There, half under the recovery truck, nowhere near the moving boots, was Vince, slowly coming round from a bad knock to the head. He had blood on his hands when he'd reached up to his injury.

"Vince. What happened?" she whispered quickly, putting a hand to help stabilise him.

"Jumped me." Vince mumbled out, but his vision didn't appear good. His head seemed far from clear.

But the questions begged, who was in the boots on the floor?

The second she asked it, she heard the grumbled out swearword in a tone she knew very well.

Dom.

Letty needed no bolstering, she rose to her full height, grip on her wrench tightened and she crossed the distance easily, whacking the wrench down between the shoulders of the asshole once again beating on Dom.

He went down quick, the strike from behind true and effective. He fell forward, knocking what breath was left out of Dom as he collapsed onto him.

The idiots he'd brought with him stopped hammering the Toretto belongings and Letty turned to them, wrench raised once more.

But her more immediate threat was rising; the blow not enough to knock Dom's assailant unconscious and he was turning to Letty, rising up and pulling a gun from his belt.

Letty rose the wrench once more.

She aimed for teeth, at least to leave him with a reminder of her fire if he killed her. She swung for a souvenir.

She missed entirely, a body blow from below knocking him back, gun dropping to the blood splattered concrete as Dom found his strength. Dom straddled the man, his weight pinning him, his fist rose to descend on him.

Again and again.

The backup finally found logic and crossed over.

Letty pulled the leader's gun from the floor, calling their attention to freeze them where they stood, in the line of fire.

Dom's fists were still going at speed, the head of the asshole hitting floor again and again.

A sickening sounds from the skull bouncing on the hard concrete.

She had seen Dom in fights before.

Encouraged it a little, if she was honest.

But this wasn't just a fight.

It was violence.

It was rage.

It was making a nauseating sound, splattering blood up onto her with every draw of his fist.

"Dom, stop." she voiced, sights still on the two she had frozen in the guns aim. "Dom, stop." More forceful.

Dom was acting as if it was kill or be killed, and he wasn't allowing the latter. "Dom!" she shouted. "Jesus Dom, stop!" The risk was heavy, but Vince was out of action and she was hoping these idiots had some sense. She took the gun away from her targets and wrapped the arm around Dom's chest, finding unknown strength and pulling him off balance to lose the rhythm he had been punching the pulp of a face with. "Stop. You gotta stop." Letty pleaded, snaring him tight in her restraint.

He could have thrown her off. He could have easily fought her.

But something stopped him. Something made him drop backwards onto his butt, hands finally still.

One hand remaining around him, torque wrench resting against Dom's chest, she rose the gun back up to the visitors.

"Whatever score you were settling, it's been settled. Take him and go." She followed their motions with the gun, her arm shaking under the tension.

She kept them in aim until their van was loaded and they were out of the lot.

The heavy sigh shook through her body and she sagged against the man in her hold.

"Urgh." Vince's groan drew her attention again and Letty whipped back into action. Her eyes went to analysis of damage.

Dom was badly bruised and bleeding, but he wasn't her main concern. He was conscious.

Vince had been unconscious from a head wound. And seems to be falling back that way with every passing second.

"Vince?" Letty called as she withdrew from Dom, making sure he was supporting himself as she rounded back to Vince.

"I, uhh..." Vince was half propped up, leaning heavily on the tow truck, slumped over to one side, looking pale in a pool of blood.

Letty channelled her mother's many nursing lessons and filtered the important questions.

When Vince starting heaving between longer and longer blinks, Letty was fishing in his pockets for an emergency dial.

"Take him." Dom's voice came over her shoulder. Strong yet quiet. "They'll phone the police if they pick him up from here."

"Maybe they should." Letty snapped. "What the hell happened?"

"I'd drive him myself, but I…" He was covered in blood also. Too many questions. Dom dragged keys from his pocket. "Take him now. I'll start cleaning up."

"Are _you_ okay?" Letty asked as Dom leaned down to lumber his best friend to his feet and drag him into the passenger seat.

"Fine."

"You almost killed him."

"He almost killed you." Dom snapped back, continuing with the half aided walk.

Letty saw the effort in each step, she saw the swelling rising up around the knuckles of his punching hand. She saw the blood on the white tshirt, the blood splatter on his face, the damage to his face.

"Call Leon back in." Letty advised. "He said he was free tonight if he needed him longer."

"I don-"

"I'm not leaving until you make the call so do it quickly or you're playing with Vince's life."

"Fine."

As soon as Vince was seated, Letty heard the call go out to Leon.

She had the engine driving her straight to A&E not a second later.

What a shit show of a night.


	44. Chapter 44

Oooooh, there is a divide; there is love, there is hate. It's all so powerful, and yet so messy! I love it!

And as a collective 'Yes!' I agree with all your reviews. Remember Letty in Fast and Furious, threatening tread marks to any women who dared flirt with Dom. That is still endgame pathway here, this is just my version of how she became passive aggressive and possessive. And how Dom turned from teenage stud to the guy who gave her his cross! You may have noticed some shaping? ;)

Here's your weekend treat. Have a lovely week, i'll be back next friday evening :)

* * *

Chapter Forty Four; Doctoring

Whoever else Dom had called, it had worked out well. Letty pulled up outside A&E with Vince officially unconscious and was instantly met with staff willing to take his weight and medical information from her at speed.

Letty's mother flashed past her, offering her a hand to her shoulder with zero questions and turned full attention to Vince. Another Dom phone call?

And five minutes later came Tessa King, throwing the doors open, coat hastily thrown over pyjamas, one slipper half off her foot. She turned her head left and right hunting for the man of the hour.

Courtesy of Dom again?

"Letty, oh god, is he okay?" Tessa threw herself into the seat next to Letty, grabbing her hands, eyes pleading.

"He's uhhh…" but all she knew was that he was in the hands of the professionals. Concussion perhaps, but there could be a number of other things at play.

"Is he okay?" she repeated, concern leaking out as tears down her face.

As with most male-female friendships, emotions ran deep, feelings burned strong, but both were usually smothered behind the word 'friend'. Without her audience to play to, Tessa wasn't bothering to hide.

"He's with the doctors." And then came the arms that flew around her shoulders, dragging her half off her chair, tightly squeezing out her breath.

"Thank you." It was pure. Wholesome. Truthful. "Thank you so much."

"I didn't do an-"

"You got him here." Tessa finally withdrew to wipe under her eyes, pulling back up the guise of a woman who wasn't falling apart. "What even happened?"

"That's what I'd like to know." And Letty looked up to her mother in full medic mode, alert and alive, arms crossed on her chest. Stern line for lips.

"Is he okay?!" Tessa pounced on Letty's mother, the nurses uniform seen before the familial resemblance.

Letty felt a flash of panic, a mirror flipped in her head; would that be her if it was Dom instead of Vince?

Would she be begging at the sleeve of a nurse, openly crying for him?

He didn't deserve it, she thought in the same second.

But, she knew the truth; yes. She'd be a mess, folded over Mia's embrace praying to any god that would listen.

"We'll be running a few tests, but he is semi-responsive at the moment." Her mother's reply was a breath of fresh air, it ran through her breathing life back into her aching lungs. "It would help us if we knew what had happened." Her attention turned to her shellshocked daughter.

"I don't know." she began. "I came out of the back and he was unconscious." Letty turned her eyes from her mother's, she couldn't say the next words as easily as she would have liked. "Some guys broke in and were trashing the place." Letty prepared for the emotional whiplash in her mother, the way she would hear the words and spin right back to the many times her husband had come home and said the exact same thing; the reason he had enlisted and been killed. The circumstances that drove them far from what used to be their paradise.

"What did they hit him with?" Letty blinked up to the question. There had been no reaction, no emotion running free. Just a medical professional asking the questions that needed to be known.

"Crowbar?" she guessed, not having seen it happen.

"He was unconscious when you found him?" Clinical, concise; it was becoming clearer how her mother held her job. She wasn't the same bumbling, forgetful mother here, she was a nurse through and through.

Tessa drew a sharp breath and curled her hand over her quivering lips.

"He was coming back around when I found him. Dom scared them off and when I got back to Vince he couldn't sit up and said he felt sick and I figured it could be concussion, so… I brought him here."

Tessa was spilling out her thanks again, clutching Letty's hand tightly.

"You did well. Possibly saved his life." Letty watched her mother scribble something on a clipboard and pass it to another nurse flying past and back into Vince's room. Letty felt her mother's medical eye turn to her daughter then, the blood splatter on her shoulder, the smudges of blood where she battled Vince's contest with consciousness for him. The analytical eye roamed over any and all possible injury to her daughter. And then, happy with what she saw, or didn't, she turned to Tessa "Are you family?"

"No. No, I'm sorry. No. I just, uh… we're best friends."

"Good, are you staying here?"

"Yes, yes, please. I just, uh, can I see him?" Watery eyes shimmered in the sterile lights of the hospital corridor.

"In a short while. Let the doctors finish their assessment. Th-"

"Ortiz," A doctor's head emerged from the room, the doors winking at where Vince laid, half hunched over the bed vomiting into a kidney dish. "Call MRI, tell them we're on our way. You're on point."

"Letty go home." her mother instructed, already on a run to the nurse's desk. "Friend, stay here. I'll update you as soon as I know anything." Phone in hand, Letty was victim to her mother's stern finger pointed out the door at her.

Letty considered the recovery truck with blood on the headrest, parked across an ambulance bay.

And the state of the shop.

And the state of Dom.

Jesus.

"I'll text with updates as soon as I have them." Tessa swore, standing up with Letty. "Thank you. And thank Dom for calling me too, please."

"Yeah."

Letty felt mindless as she made her way back to the truck.

She was leaving, but not to go home.

There was a ghost of a thought rattling around in her head.

What if this had been Dom?

What if it was a mistake leaving Dom there?

What if Dom was just as bad?

What if Leon hadn't come and Dom was passed out?

What if the thugs came back?

Letty found her foot heavy on the gas.

If things had changed even the smallest bit, would she be battling her mother to get into the room with Dom?

Her heart was pounding in her chest as she pressed on, straight back to Toretto's.

By the time she pulled up, she had worked herself into a fright.

The lights were still on and Leon's car was in the lot.

Letty dropped out of the truck the second it stopped, handbrake ripped on and the vehicle immediately forgotten.

She ran in to find Jesse with mop in hand, bleach smelling strongly as he spread the blood around.

"Dom?"

"Office, getting patched up." he answered quickly, her expression probably a factor in the reason his eyes went wide.

"Dom." she called, bursting into the office.

Leon stood from where he was sticking a steri-strip from the first aid box over Dom's eyebrow where it had been cut badly.

"I'm uhhh, gunna help Jesse tidy up." Ever tactful, Leon excused himself swiftly.

Letty took one look at the blood on the cotton wool balls discarded on the floor and crossed the distance straight into his open arms.

It was like the circle keeping all of Letty's stressors tight had finally snapped in that moment. She tucked her face into his neck as he held her.

She felt her eyes sting with tears that she refused point blank to shed, but it was the shakes that ripped through her body that gave her away.

"You alright?" Dom's deep tones hushed away her strength and she clutched tighter to him.

He was real, he was whole (although damaged) and he was there with her. "Something happen with Vince, Let?"

"Tessa's with him." Letty rushed out, the last of her steady breath spilling out.

"I called her. Figured she'd be more up to spending the night in the hospital with his grumpy ass." The joke was made lightly, Vince's temperament would make any hospital stay difficult, but it felt awful to her, knowing Vince's condition had gotten worse.

"He's your best friend." she chastised, pushing away from his embrace.

"He's also the reason we're in this mess." Dom challenged.

"So he should die for it?" Letty bit back.

Dom drew back, the surprise and shock white over his features.

"He's alright, isn't he?"

"I don't know." Letty answered, turning away and scrubbing at her cheeks, fear a stray tear may have escaped. "My mum's there with him." Letty snapped back a second later. "She wanted to know what happened. I don't have a fucking clue what the hell you two were doing."

"Remember the asshole that flipped me at the races?" Dom rose an eyebrow pointedly, how could any of them forget. "Vince decided he wanted to act back." Dom huffed a long sigh. "We said it was a stupid idea and we weren't going. Nobody was hurt, we won the pot, it was fucked up but nothing we needed to fix." When had this conversation happened?! Because Letty certainly wasn't part of it. She would have remembered because she most likely would have sided with Vince, the assholes needed to pay. "The night after Vince found out about us, he decided he was going to go by himself. He broke in, trashed their machines and wares. This," he nodded out the window at the mess in the garage. "Was payback from the crew."

"It stops here." Letty insisted, her voice hard.

"Le-"

"Dom, you almost killed a man." she whispered sharply. "You would have killed him." Her attention went to his hand and his followed. He unfurled the swollen fingers of his right hand, the knuckles bright red, the swelling painful and tight. "Tonight is slate wiped clean. I don't care about your ego, or whatever the guys say. This stops."

His healthy hand outstretched to her, his chin nodded at her, calling her back in the softest way he knew how.

She didn't immediately accept and he leant forward, claiming her hand and pulling her back to his knee.

"I was going to say, Vince might have a problem with that. But considering what happened, I agree with you. This is it." Dom reached out for the first aid kit off the desk and put it on Letty's lap as she rested on one of his knees. "Patch me up?"

"Are you okay?" she asked softly, fingers wrapped over the gauze tightly, eyes in the first aid kit.

"I'll survive." he whispered back, tucking her hair back behind her ear. "You?"

"Yeah."

"You sure?"

"They didn't even touch me." Letty clarified, turning to him with clinical gaze, avoiding the emotion in his eyes.

"I'd never let them." he promised, a promise that spoke of all the dark twisted things he would do, leading him into hell to keep that vow he made. "Been a difficult week." he commented, fishing for emotion, any clue to the stability of the woman perched on his knee, sifting through basic medical supplies.

He found her attention to be purely practical as she turned his jaw tenderly, inspecting the damage. No hint of the stress the week suffered.

Difficult was an understatement, the pressure of the new build, the influx of cars, the emotional distance between the man that would wipe clean her tension. And then came tonight, the extra hours, the brush with death, the fear, the emotional rollercoaster. "And you're still mad at me." Dom noted quietly, stroking his good thumb over her cheek as she worked.

"Yes." She wasn't going to waste energy lying about it.

"You hate me?" he sounded as vulnerable as a child without their favourite teddybear.

"No." she busied herself raising up his injured hand to inspect.

"I don't want us to be over, Letty."

The air felt tight, on the verge of a tornado or possibly weak breeze. It all depended on the next moments. "I understand how you felt. I know I should have said something. But it wasn't my only reasoning for my actions."

"Can you straighten your fingers?" Letty interrupted.

"No." he sighed. "Not until we talk about this."

Letty took his fingers in her small hand and flexed them out to straight. She earned a harsh intake of breath but nothing enough to suggest they were broken. "Guess I deserved that." he smirked, his good arm wrapping around her.

"And so much more." she bitterly replied. "Do you want me to splint and tape them?"

"No." he took his swollen paw back from her. "I want you to come home with me tonight. I want you to stay with me in my bed. I want you to curl up next to me and let me kiss you again."

"Is anything else bleeding?" Cold and clinical, she stood from his single handed grip easily, scanning him up and down.

"I dunno, squeeze your hands 'round my heart again and maybe this time it'll pop."

"Seriously? You're gunna be a drama queen now?" she chastised. "You'll live." She shoved the first aid kit back at him, stalking out back into the mess of the garage.

Everything looked horrific.

Even if you excused the blood.

It was hard to look at; this place had been a sanctuary for her for a long time.

To see it broken and beaten was saddening.

The boys must have felt the same, Jesse mopped with a miserable frown. Leon dragged bent metal sheets from the floor, a sigh slipping from him.

A phone started vibrating and Letty went for her pockets before realising the dying device was still in the truck.

"Tessa says she's sat with him whilst they wait for test results." Dom announced to the garage from behind her.

Letty steered herself towards the truck and retrieved the phone.

She came back to Dom poking at a bruise on his ribs, shirt lifted by his bad hand. The bruise looked oddly like it would develop into a boot print. Unsurprisingly.

"Go home." Letty suggested strongly. "You need to rest."

"You coming with me?" no shame to the request made before the garage.

"No. Go home." she repeated, claiming a rag from the mop bucket and returned with it sodden to scrub Vince's blood from the headrest and seat back of the truck.

"We'll finish the blood and leave the rest to tomorrow." Leon voiced, agreeing with Letty. "You should get some rest Dom. I'm dropping Jesse off, I'll take Letty home on my way."

Letty smiled in thanks as she returned to refresh the reddened cloth.

Dom's eyes went straight to Letty, to the woman holding his heart in her tiny hands. She refused him once more, turning away and back to the task at hand.

"She'll come around. It's been a hard night." Jesse quietly spoke to him as he walked out of the family garage.

Dom sat in the Civic, engine turning over as Letty climbed back into the recovery truck.

He passed out a text to Tessa, demanding to know the second anything changed. Asking her to call if she needed anything, if Vince needed anything.

Letty was right; his best friend, the idiot that he is, was in a bad condition.

And yet all he could think about was Letty blanking him once again.

He thought things had changed, when she rushed into his arms, emotions bubbling over.

Evidently not.

* * *

Dom laid in bed, eyes staring up at the darkness, yet again toying with the idea of texting Letty. His dreams had been miles away, sleep not coming. Instead, his mind tossed and turned, thinking of Letty a few streets away. Far from his arms, from his touch.

He wasn't naïve enough to believe this wasn't his fault. He couldn't blame her for how she felt.

But… she wasn't as correct as she thought.

Yes, he didn't sleep with her whilst there was a chance Rita was pregnant.

And he kept telling himself that was the only reason.

Because that made so much more sense than the other demon.

The truth was indeed an ugly demon, as much as he hid behind the pregnancy scandal, his brain was stuck.

It was second guessing everything he did with her.

He went straight back to his bed where she clung to him, fingernails clutching at his back in what he mistakenly had thought was pleasure. And then came the wet droplet that crashed into his back, crushing everything he knew. He felt the tension that wasn't pre-orgasm rush. He felt the stillness in her.

He wanted to say he held back solely because of Rita.

He wanted to be the asshole that made him.

He didn't want to be second guessing what used to be second nature, double checking every motion she made to ensure she never again cried from him.

And yet, in doing so, he had made her cry. Again.

He tossed over onto his side, hand reaching for his phone, ready to tap out a plea for forgiveness.

But… no.

She deserved better. Maybe this was for the best.

He dropped the phone to the bedding and turned away from temptation.

He should have told her about Rita.

But it wasn't likely to be true, she had said it was likely to be a false positive since the first test came back.

Why should he have worried Letty with that unnecessarily?

But it looked like he was damned if he did, and damned if he didn't.

Maybe he was just not for Letty, a bad fit neither of them could see.

Was this a blessing?

Would she move on? Be happier?

His fists tightened, straining the damage done to them.

He thought she was meeting her end tonight, when that gun turned to her, he saw white.

Didn't even remember the punches he threw.

He felt them now though.

He felt the pain all over his body, throbbing in aches, unable to rest comfortably.

But it was nothing compared to the sobbing weight in his heart.

He had to let her go, let her be, do what was best…right?

The house groaned beneath him, breathing in the night, complaining with the pain he was radiating out into it.

Mia was going to kill him.

There was no doubt about that.

He had never wanted to hurt Letty, never wanted to see her turn from him like she did tonight. And he was going to pay for it. No matter what his sister could do to him, what Letty would do, nothing would hurt as much as he was beating himself up.

Dom heard the familiar creak of the stairs and tensed, listening on high alert.

Again, another noise.

Whoever was breaking in had the shit luck of picking the house with the most broken man in the world. Dom was ready for using this man's face for therapy. Dom pulled off the duvet and curled fists, tense and bruised skin protesting, but happy for any distraction from the emotional wreck inside him.

In the darkness, tiny fingers nudged at his bedroom door. Startled eyes locked at him.

"Thought you'd be asleep." Letty's voice admitted softly, sounded as exhausted as he felt.

"Letty." Her name, her presence, hearing her word, it breathed life into his dying body. A rush filled him from toes to head, pulsing out a possibility that brought him happiness. She was here. She was his.

"Move over." She toed off her shoes by the bed, eyes not meeting him.

"I need to ap-"

"Go to sleep, Dom." Letty cut him off cleanly, sharply. Dom laid back down, shuffling over to give her the room.

"Letty, we n-"

"I'm tired." Letty still didn't meet his eyes. But she slid into the duvet, pulled it up around her chin.

"I'm sorry." he tried again, knowing she wouldn't let him get out any more words.

"Yeah." she sighed, her hand finding his arm under the covers and pulling it around her, like it was when they slept together, curled up in love. "I can't sleep, that's the only reason I'm here." she insisted in the quiet. "You owe me that much." The words cut down all giddiness Dom had built, but they cuddled up with the idea that perhaps she wasn't as over him as she claimed. Perhaps…

* * *

Morning came with glaring sun through the open curtains, turning Dom onto his side, away from the harsh light and onto some bruises that winded him.

He groaned and stretched to change position. The stretch just awoke new pains and he found himself unable to return to peace.

He sat up, mentally preparing for something to eat. Was there bacon in the fridge still?

He took inventory of all the damage to his body, adding pain meds to his breakfast plans.

Just before he could swing his legs off the bed, memory flared.

Letty.

Eyes swinging the room, he searched for a sign of her.

Nothing.

Has it been a figment of his imagination?

A dream brought on through pain and loneliness?

No.

The words had been too close to reality to have been of his own creation.

And there was a smell of her on his bedsheets.

Letty.

He sighed deeply.

What did last night mean?

Dom went to work driving past her house.

He scouted the Saturday morning for any chance of Letty coming in on her day off.

But eating lunch alone in the office, craving her sensitive touch, he felt empty enough to call his father. More so for familiar comfort than the fact he couldn't hide the damage to the garage, or his father's employee's faces. But still, it wasn't an easy conversation. His father had concluded with the agreement he would return soon and supporting Dom's plan for the clientele.

Tessa had regaled a tragic story via mobile about the staples holding Vince's head together whilst Dom flexed his swollen hand back and forth, wishing to re-live the way Letty had carefully turned them left and right.

And he knew what Vince would say if he saw him now, moping around, lurking away from others because of a girl, trying to find a text that would bring her back to him. He'd call him whipped.

Rightfully so.

Dom didn't think he could recall a time he had ever come close to feeling like this. So overwhelmed with her.

His knuckles protested with the grip on the mobile, temptation flared red and angry like the damage he sported.

But he never could express himself over characters on a text.

He set it back down and drowned himself in work.

By nightfall, Dom ached everywhere.

He'd driven back past letty's home, wondering if the lights on and curtains drawn was to keep him out. Wondering if she was thinking about him. Wondering if her feelings had changed as much as she claimed. Hoping there was a way back, because lord knew he couldn't bare to give her up at this point. Even if he should.

The agony inside him wasn't calmed by the idea of the races, nor time alone in the garage with his baby. It overshadowed the physical pain in spades.

It was clear what would calm the agony.

Clear what his soul needed, what it yearned for.

It sobbed inside him as he showered, trying to conjure ways she could be there with im.

It rocked listlessly as he ate the microwave baked potato, undeserving of anything better.

It pleaded of relief as he faced another night alone in the house.

He was bolt awake, listening for a slipped door downstairs, a creeping trainer squeaking on the floorboards, any possibility of Letty returning to him again.

* * *

"Don't freak. It's just me." The whispered words triggered through Dom's brain and he flung his eyes open, unaware of when he had fallen asleep.

A petite body came into his open arms and he snuggled against it instinctively, uncaring if it was a dream or not. She was here again.

She relaxed into his hold again, like she was meant to be there and knew it.

Like her body couldn't settle without his.

"You're back." he mumbled sleepily, pulling her safely into the cradle of his body.

"Couldn't sleep." Her words sounded pissed off but she huffed out a hard breath and pulled the covers up around her like she liked.

"Something wrong?" he asked probing and knowing exactly what territory he was stepping into, but it was worth it if she opened up to him.

"Yeah." Letty finally whispered into the darkness.

"Something I can help with?" he poked again, senses on high alert as he held her, ready to read her body's reaction.

None came, she stayed as relaxed as she was.

"Yeah." The one word was all he was getting.

"You coming back tomorrow night?" Dom quizzed, forgetting all about saving face and laying cards on the table. His need was clear in his tone; he wanted her to come back.

"Yeah." It seemed all she was capable of replying, but for tonight, it was enough for Dom. He smiled into her hair and closed his eyes.


	45. Chapter 45

Tessa; some of you remember her, some of you don't. Not that I can blame you, she seems like a whole lifetime ago. She crops up in chapter 3 first if you wish to review. She's a friend with a crush on Vince. And i'm playing with that like an evil God, muhahahahaha!

Also, I'm not sure how clear this is, so I just want to clarify; Dom didn't cheat on Letty with Rita. Rita was one of his 'pre-letty' conquests. It can take up to a month or two before you can even realise you're pregnant sometimes and this has been a behind the scenes sideline that has cropped up and bit Dom in the ass. But there's no easy to tell your crush that 'oh yeah, one of my old girls might be preggers', so, Dom being Dom; he didn't.

A few reviews want Letty to experience other relationships. Which I can see why... sadly, I don't really take it very far down that avenue, but i'm not writing all the way up to Fast and Furious, so there's plenty of time I won't cover where that probably does happen. I mean they're fire and gasoline, there is going to be a few sparks that explode, right? Haha.

So, I offer up Chapter 45, hopefully to bring a smile.

* * *

 **Chapter Forty Five; Side of the bed.  
**

Sunday evening, Dom had Letty's single word answer buzzing around in his brain. She was coming back again tonight. He'd showered, shaved, thrown on the aftershave that she'd liked the most previously and was sat on his bed, thinking of the best way to word his apology. He thrown open the window, knowing how she hated to be too stuffy in the summer. The tv was on as background noise, mainly so he wouldn't listen into every breath the house took and buzz with anticipation. It was already after 11pm and he felt like a live wire with every minute that passed, bringing her closer.

She'd left before he could wake up that morning, snuck out like a thief.

She'd text him though, told him she wanted to left side of the bed this time.

He'd smiled at the very idea.

He could fix this.

He just needed to get the words out. Explain what he could. Let her get as angry as she needed to be then plead for her forgiveness.

Dom's heart swelled as the downstairs door clicked shut.

His skin vibrated, eager to have her back.

To move past this and move on. Together.

He glanced at his room. He'd tidied it after he got back from work, vacuumed even.

And here she was. Feet fast on the stairs, bursting into his room with a grin.

"I have just spent the last hour on the phone to Mia." she announced, easily making herself at home, jacket sleeves tugged down to come off.

"She alright?"

"That depends on how you categorize hair disasters." Letty laughed lightly. "The chlorine is causing a ' _3 step conditioning nightmare'_ , apparently." she quoted. "She's been trying to find some special conditioner but none of the local shops sell it."

"She's coming home tomorrow, she'll live." And would Letty still return to him then? He didn't know.

"She was minutes away from mixing chemicals in her ensuite sink when she called." Letty scoffed, adding an eyeroll.

"I remember her chemistry grade; this wouldn't have ended well." Dom smirked, smugly tucking a hand behind his head. He liked this new chatty Letty. The one that was comfortable around him, that trusted him with her problems.

"Which is more or less what I said." Letty shrugged off the jacket, slinging it onto the back of the desk chair. "But…"

"But what?"

"She wants me to convince you to bring her some when you pick her up tomorrow. So she ' _remedies the destruction of her hair as soon as humanly possible_ '." Letty quoted the conversation line she had mocked Mia for.

"In her dreams."

"I did say it was highly unlikely." Letty grinned.

"But…" Dom started, "If you want, you can pick her up, sort out her hair emergency drama, enjoy the theme park for the day?"

"I'm working…" He knew this. It was why he had the day off.

"I'll swap you. Besides, she'd rather see you than me." Dom bartered. And, in honesty, he felt like Letty might need the girl talk.

"You should be resting that." she nodded to the swollen red hand that still wasn't right.

"I can work." He rolled his eyes and shuffled on the bed. It was mostly admin and cancelling appointments whilst they sorted the shop out. "Sort out my sister." She was more suited to it. "Suppose you'd be best to break the news about the garage destruction too." Mia would just blame him all the ride home anyway, best he didn't have to listen to it first-hand.

"She knows." Letty pulled a tired face, pulling out her mobile from her back pocket. "She's already planning the remodel." With a few taps she turned the screen his way. "This is the diagram made on napkins."

"Napkins?" His hands took the offered device and zoomed in on the image.

"I think she started trying to do it to scale at the canteen and ran out of space." Letty sat herself in the desk chair and lifted her leg to unzip the length of one boot.

"She doesn't seriously think she's going to redesign the entire garage does she?" The photo detailed the entire site spread over 8 napkins.

"You haven't spoken to Vince recently have you?" she rightly guessed, one boot dropping to the floor with a dulled thud.

"This morning, he's out and staying with Tessa." he answered mindlessly, pinching the photo to examine the design further. His sister had turned a functioning auto-repair centre into a chaotic form of order.

"Mia phoned him. Mostly to make sure he was okay, b-"

"Which will really help his delusions." Dom grumbled, turning his attention back to the photo. It was detailed. Heavily. It even had a birdseye view of his dad's office that had an allotted space for his mug of tea.

"But she's already manipulated him into agreeing to her colour scheme and re-arranging."

"Yeah, like we're really going to implement this." Dom scoffed, tapping a finger at the phone.

"Oh yeah." Letty nodded, second boot unzipped and dropping as well. "Mia's got Vince abusing his wounded card, looping in Leon and Jesse far too easily. Ella didn't even ask for an explanation." Letty laughed and stood, hands on the bottom on the tshirt she wore. Not that Dom was looking at her, he was still bug eyed staring at his sister's audacious plan.

"I can't believe that meathead…" Dom growled. "I knew this would happen the second I sto-" it was then Dom looked up from the phone, locking his eyes directly on Letty. More accurately, on the push-up corset in deep purple Letty had revealed from under her discarded top.

The t-shirt dropped from her hands to the floor and she met his eyes and attention. "That's what you're wearing?" he asked, swallowing hard. Did it just get hot in here?

"Yeah." She turned left and right, as if to confirm she was indeed wearing it. Her hands settled on the denim shorts.

"Wait, wait." Dom stopped her, swollen hand outstretched. He tried a few sentences, but none made it past a few discarded syllables.

Letty popped the button on her shorts, pulled down the zip and dragged them down her legs.

Dom had given her the outfits he'd bought, said he would let her know when he wanted her to wear them. She'd told him he was dreaming if he thought he was playing dress-up with her. She'd wear whatever was comfortable.

All comfort had pointed to the more subtle outfits.

But this one had a purpose.

The shorts joined the tshirt on the floor and Letty stepped out and clear, the lace of the boyshorts that paired with the corset were exactly her style and yet made her look like something out of a magazine.

"They, uhh, got a reason for being on?" Dom finally managed to find his words. There was a reason in his head, a reason that he was not ashamed to say had him half hard. A reason that perhaps meant the last crack she made to his heart was going to heal.

"Yeah." Again, that word was starting to piss him off majorly. "You've seen it all before though right, so it won't bother you too much." Her lash of her tongue had him suffer emotional whiplash. But it didn't stop the soldier in his boxers that had lazer focus, a salute rising just for her, a trick on his brain he couldn't stop playing out.

"Yeah well, I saw a clean room before you came in, doesn't mean I don't wanna see it again." he tutted at the clothes she'd dropped, playing super cool, like she hadn't just changed the entire mood with the choice of underwear.

It smelled of sweet manipulation as she bent at the waist, ass pointed up towards him as she rolled her eyes but picking up her clothes back to the chair.

His brain couldn't find the want to chastice such a low move, not when she looked so fucking fantastic. He wanted his hands on her, he wanted her to turn to him with big bedroom eyes and ask him what he wanted. He wanted _her_.

Gods be damned, he had to busy his hands to stop them from reaching for her.

He could just imagine her there, stood before her mirror, hooking up the eyelets of the corset, shimmying in the bones, pulling the back tighter to her figure.

Fuck.

A deep breath sailed through him from lungs to dick.

But…

Brain finally kicked back in. She'd dressed like this before coming over.

Maybe he wasn't the only one guilty of manipulation tonight.

Did this mean their truce ran deeper than just pleasantries?

"If it bothers you that much, I'll borrow a shirt." She pulled open the wardrobe. "Oh…"

Dom was too busy trying to figure her mindset to realise what she had found until her hand came back out with a purple vibrating egg, one she had been very intimately acquainted one. A blush rising on her cheeks.

Shit, he'd stashed the box in there.

"Get in bed." Dom ordered, already throwing the covers off himself and striding over. "Before you find anything else."

"There's something else?" Giddily, she dove back into the wardrobe, rummaging like a child before Christmas for another present with their name on.

Arms ensnared her as she landed her fingers back on the cardboard of 'discreet packaging'.

She squealed with laughter as he lifted her, hands on her waist before setting her behind his body and the wardrobe. "I wanna see." she whined playfully.

"No." he laughed, darting out to block another attempted grab around him.

"Let me see and I'll be less pissed at you." she bartered, feigning left and ducking right. He caught her again, swinging her around in his arms and setting her back away from her goal. "Like a whole 10% less pissed?" she offered again.

"You're already less pissed with me." Dom voiced, a nod to her underwear.

"Am not." she argued lightly.

"Are too." he grinned. "You don't wear that if you're pissed at someone."

"Fine." she huffed, brushing back the hair that had fallen loose. "Figured you'd like it."

"Thought you finally got over me? Didn't want anything to do with me?" he asked, dangling the sweet bait, if she could just admit it, it would be a delicious victory.

"Not like a relationship status is needed." Her pointed glare pinned him, it echoed 'checkmate'.

"I'm a changed man. Relationship or nothing." The tone said 'jest', the words purposeful to tangle her in his web, lure her to change her mind. But they rattled around and settled in his head as comfortably as if they had always been there.

"You suck at relationships." she spoke, bitterness in her tone. "But… this is our last night before Mia comes back." The truth spilled. Her reason for the lingerie locking into place. "Besides… you _owe_ me." Her eyes locked to his, a dark control searing over any nerves. "Figured one last night of fun was due before we went our separate ways." Her eyes cut behind him, to the wardrobe. "You said you bought them all with something in mind. Tell me what it was." She cocked out a hip unconsciously. It just made him fall deeper under her thrall.

Dom always liked to be top dog, to be the one in control. But Letty standing before him, dressed to stop a heart and staring him down; it did something. And it wasn't unpleasant.

It felt like a challenge, like the thrill of a chase.

It felt like having her would be a reward in itself, to tame the princess behind a thousand locked door, guarded by an army.

"Tell me what you want." he pleaded, soft and low, drawing her closer, his hands finding the sweet accentuated shape of her waist and drawing her closer.

"You." she answered back, letting him pull her into a lovers embrace. "You owe me that much. I don't care if you love me, or if you don't." Her words tugged at his chest. "I don't care if we never do this again. Just tonight." Her lips held apart, the berry lipgloss daring him to close the distance and taste her kiss. Her chest was pushed up, framed by a dark purple, lifting with every heavy breath, begging him to feel intimately. Her legs stood strong and proud, a woman in control, asking him to let them wrap around his body.

She lifted herself onto her toes, snaking an arm around his neck to bring her to his height more securely. She lined lips to lips and Dom fought a battle of heart against lust.

And then her touch was gone, her small frame slipped under his arms, fingers claiming a box like it was the true prize and she set it on the bed before he could register he'd lost.

Was it all a game?

Lost, Dom took a tentative seat on the desk chair.

"Is this because what happened at the garage?" he guessed. "Is that why you can't sleep?" her reaction turned hard and he knew he'd hit some truth. "You're scared?"

"No." she protested with a hard tone to her voice.

"Then what's bothering you?"

"Does it matter?" Letty quipped, dropping hands from the box and turning around to glare at him.

"Yes. You said I could help with it, tell me how Letty."

"What if I wasn't there?!" she suddenly spoke. "What if I hadn't have been in the back? If I has gone home?" she carried on like she could no longer hold back the words, breaking the gates of control. "If it was you instead of Vince? If Mia had been there? If they had killed you? If you had killed _them_? And it keeps spinning around in my head, and the only thing that shuts it up is being close to you. And I'm meant to be pissed at you, and I am, and I don't forgive you. But I can't stop thinking about it."

"Lett-"

"I know, okay, whatever you want to say, I know it already, so don't waste your breath."

"Letty, let me apo-"

"No. You don't get to apologise and make me forgive you. I took Vince to A&E thinking he'd died on me as I pulled up. And I'm stuck on the idea that it could have been you. And I _hate_ that I can't stay mad at you because of that. And that all I want to do is be _here_. So I'm asking for you to want me, just one last time."

"Letty." He reached out, interceding her pacing, taking her into his arms, just like they had been when she raced back to the garage to him. "I'm sorry." he whispered against her.

She wasn't upset, wasn't crying. No Letty was stronger than that. But she was stiff and tense, like she was boarding up all her emotions all over again, trying to prevent another overflow as had just happened. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you there was a chance Rita was pregnant."

"Dom, I do-"

"I'm sorry you had to step in at the garage." Dom brushed her hair back from her eyes. They had already closed down emotion though, hard and cold once more. "Sorry you saw that."

"I don't want your apology." she bit out, standing tall and strong. "I should have known better than to trust you."

The words hurt more than the loneliness.

Dom swallowed hard.

"You really should let me do something with those." she spoke, pointing to his swollen hand as she stepped away.

"They're fine."

"They're probably fractured."

"They're not."

"And you look like you've bust your eye"

"It's just bloodshot."

"And let's face it, you're a gothic watercolour of bruises." Her lips tweaked a smile at her comparison, the clever words accurate for his current description.

"They'll heal."

"Not all wounds do." she spoke, but the implication hung heavily.

"You'll forgive." he amended. "This isn't it for us, Letty. We don't end like this."

Par for the course, Letty voluntarily erased any emotion it evoked and redirected her attention into the box of treasure on the bed.

Eager hands pulled open the flaps and she dove a hand in.

Dom sat back.

He'd bought each item with the vision of it on, in or near her.

He'd bought them with his hand aching to be wrapped around himself, dying to see her in every position his mind conjured.

It arrived and he was half hard as he opened it, with as much enthusiasm as Letty currently had, desperate to see, to touch, to feel, to experience the next opportunity she gave him for each item.

She withdrew the first item with a smile on her face, a finger high with fluffy handcuffs hooked on it.

The colour matched her current underwear set.

The underwear set he had picked out hoping she would put it on under a dress, let him hold her out somewhere, knowing with every touch he could feel the bones of the corset and know how fucking awesome she would look under the dress. Knowing every guy they passed would see her in silhouette and want her. Knowing he'd be the only one to peel down a dress, revealing a tight corset that only accentuated the perfect shape she already had.

"Think I can guess what you had in mind for these." Letty mocked, swinging the cuffs left and right on the digit.

She should be on his bed, legs spread, hands cuffed to his bed frame as he ate her. She should be rattling the easy release catch, trying to get her hands on him as he drove her closer and closer to orgasm, yet keeping her just from tumbling over. She should be swearing at him with every word she knew, panting and grinding against his face. She should be begging to be free of those fur lined cuffs so she could tackle him, take what she wanted, knock him away, slide her fingers down and finish herself off.

Dom took a steadying breath.

Next, she drew out the jiggle balls, confusion on her face as she passed them from hand to hand.

She should be in his office at work, asking for him to just get it over with and fuck her. She should be complaining about keeping the balls in all day at work. She should be bartering for something to help the constant arousal they caused with every step. And he'd have been an asshole and given her all the jobs that made best use of the balls.

Letty pulled a face at him, blindfold pulled from the box, red satin.

"Really?" she rolled her eyes.

She wouldn't be rolling her eyes when she was under his hands, rolling circles into every inch of her naked body, massaging lotion into all of her aches and tense muscles, spending extra attention at her sensitive nipples of course. She wouldn't be concerned about anything but how it felt. Not how she looked, if she was doing something right, if it was good for him. Just how it felt with his hands on her. How it felt as he slipped his fingers between her legs and rubbed out all of her tension kept there.

Dom swallowed hard, slinking back on the chair, extending out his legs.

The nipple clamps earned three turns in her hands before she set them on the duvet.

Such sensitive nipple, what would she think of those? Not too tight, not too loose, but enough that she knew they were there. Enough that he could pair them with the vibrating egg, throw a dress over her and take her over the bumpiest road known to man while she made death threats to him. He'd reach over, hand off the wheel, between her legs, feel how fucking wet she'd be and know she was loving it.

She threw the vibrating cockring in the air, catching it neatly as she read the description on the package. It had been a freebie with the purchase, but it didn't slip past his plans.

He snapped to another dirty fantasy. Letty on her hands and knees on his bedroom carpet, right there infront of him where he sat. Only in his mind, she was crying out in pleasure as he thrust into her from behind, screaming everytime the vibrating ring brushed her clit. She'd scrunch her fingers into his carpet, arch her back and push back on him, for more contact, more depth, more pleasure.

"It actually looks like a bullet." she commented with the next item.

He'd wanted to slip it in her bag at the garage, text her when they spent the night apart to get her hot and wet with the dirtiest of texts. Make her want him. Make her crave him. To where she was ready to sprint across the street's distance to have him. Then he'd ask her to pull this out of her bag. He'd call her, instruct her of where to go, of what to touch. To play puppet master hearing every gasp and sigh, every darted breath, every moan of pleasure, to map out her body by ear as she played his adventure out.

Next, she pulled out the soft touch paddle.

How could he resist, he hadn't expected her to be so into the odd spanks he delivered before, so ready for the idea of it that afternoon of their first ever date. He wanted to test it properly. Maybe wait for her to get another mood on, grumble about waiting for sex. He'd entertain the darker side of her that denied how much she liked the bdsm book he'd caught her with. Ask her to bend over his lap, watch as she stuck her ass up in the air, taunting with a wiggle. She'd bite her lip before claiming she didn't feel anything, demand he give it harder. He'd tug on the thong she wore, knowing by smell alone she was wet and wanting. He'd listen to her preen on his knee, rubbing her nipples against his thigh like he wouldn't know better.

"I have an idea, I think…" Dom tore his attention back to the present as she pulled the last item from the box, quizzically theorizing it.

Butt plug.

He wasn't 100% on this one, but Letty claimed she wanted to try everything.

Perhaps it would extend that far?

Perhaps she'd let him take another tender virginity, fucking herself on his cock as he teased her back hole.

"And enough condoms to last a lifetime." Letty concluded. "Boring." she forced the word out blasé like.

But Dom saw the red cheeks, the lingering fingers as she dropped the vibrating egg back into the re-packaged box.

Letty wanted the here and now, the last available opportunity that worked with the least effort; him, tonight.

But Dom saw the year, two year, down the line when she'd come back to him after work, argue about the bills, complain about the paperwork and blank him. He wanted her to crawl into bed and let him make her feel better, he wanted to convince her he would sort out all the problems. He wanted her to turn to him, eyes wide and trusting and tell him she loved him. He wanted the tears, the fears, the hate and the emotional rollercoaster that came with a relationship. A full blown, love you, relationship.

He wanted it.

And yet, she sat on the bed, rolling her eyes at a box of sex toys because she couldn't trust him. Pretending she didn't want it too.

Pretending she didn't feel the hurt.

He felt like a man driven mad with obsession as she stood with the box, drawing closer to him, playing off the wobble in her jelly legs like it wasn't there. She set it back where it belonged.

She was all he could think about.

Every breath, every minute, every glimpse of her in a memory.

She wasn't just his kid sister's best friend.

She was his everything.

And yet she wanted this as one last night.

Did he give it to her? Comply with her wishes?

Or would that just confirm her belief that that was all this was?

His fingers wrapped around her wrist as she made to step away.

He cut her retreat off, pulling her to him.

"I want you." he spoke dark and serious. "And if all you want is tonight, then… okay." A tightness lashed around his heart as he agreed her terms. "But I want you to hear me say what I should have said a while ago." He watched her eyes try to read him, to foresee what she would no doubt try to wipe from memory, but this was being seared in there.

His words were going to filter through and she was going to hear them. What she did with them after that, was all her own decision. "I love you, Letty."


	46. Chapter 46

Bless you all for your comments. Thank you so much, they are so kind.

Sadly, I am going to have to keep posting at a week apart, just for me to stay on top of things, but if I do get to a point I can deliver faster, you will be top of my list!

There's uh, a lot of Vince-love, which I wasn't entirely expecting, so that's really nice. Don't worry guys, I'll take care of him for you.

* * *

Chapter Forty Six: What does it mean?

"Letty!" Mia opened her suite door in shock, fully expecting to barter with her brother for a few more moments of packing time. "Oh my God, Letty!" Mia pulled the girl into a tight hug and through into the suite. "I thought Dom was picking me up?!"

"We swapped." Letty replied, moving with the excited bounce the hug had taken on.

"I can't believe you're here. Oh Letty I wanted to phone you last night. I have such big news to tell you."

"You and Alex?"

Mia nodded at speed, finally releasing the hug.

"It happened." Mia unnecessarily vocalised.

"How are you?"

"Tired." Mia dramatically fell onto the bed and Letty joined her, cross legged as the diva spread out arms and legs. "And a little sore, and sorta sad I won't see him until he finishes at camp. But… I feel good. I feel like a woman now."

"Nobody ended up in A&E." Letty joked.

"Oh my god, no. I mean there was a bit where it was really painful and I thought I was going to have to stop entirely and pledge myself to a convent or something, but he stopped and we did other stuff for a little while and, it was… It just felt so much better than I thought it would."

"You don't regret it?"

"Not even a little." Mia smiled at her best friend. "Alex was really sweet. He stayed the night, even brought me sweets from the vending machine for breakfast, and I'm pretty sure he got back to camp late this morning because he stayed, so he's probably in exile with all the naughty kids or something. But, it was good. Really good."

"I'm happy you're happy." Letty found herself in a vice tight hug assault. "These are different sheets though, right?" Letty teased, earning herself a playful shove out of the bed and onto the floor.

"Yes!" Mia huffed. "Where's my conditioner anyway?"

"It's in my bag. I brought you the one from your secret stash, I think it's the right one." Letty sat up on the carpet, watching her pseudo-sister rummage through her backpack. She wielded the conditioner like it was the holy grail.

"I absolutely love you so much." Mia insisted, "Com'on, you can fill me in whilst I wash my hair over the bath."

Which was how Letty found herself sitting on the closed toilet of the hotel's giant ensuite bathroom, contemplating telling Mia about the biggest night of her life so far.

Dom's confession was rattling around in her head.

It had been since he said it.

And Letty still didn't know what to make of it. But one thing was for sure; she couldn't get rid of it.

It bumbled around the corners of her mind, sneaking up at any minute reference to it.

It spun circles in her mind as Mia wove her tale of her latest date and dinner with Alex.

It tickled for her full attention as Mia finished packing her items and left Letty alone with her thoughts.

But, she didn't even know how she felt; how was she meant to discuss it with Mia when she couldn't discuss it with herself?

His words continued to boil her temper as she lugged the suitcases down to her car, Mia following with promises to text the other temps that she got along with.

Dom's confession haunted her as she pulled out of the theme park without touching a single attraction.

It was everything she ever wanted from him. But, in the dark of her mind she never expected it to ever happen. If indeed it had.

Was it all just another tactic? Another lie about a possibly pregnant girl that wasn't? Another manipulation?

Letty knew even as she swore she was over him that friday night that he would never leave her thoughts, but this was an entirely different level to what she expected.

Letty didn't have a clue where to start, but his revelation wouldn't quit bounding through any logical thought or conversation concentration.

He was demanding her to sort it, to figure out the response she hadn't been able to give.

Her tolerance waned and it burst her guard in the middle of Mia's analysis of her night with Alex.

"But I can tell, he loves me. Like really really loves me Letty, and it-"

"What does it mean?" Letty suddenly asked, hostility in her voice as she interrupted Mia mid-flow. Another mile marker sped past on the freeway.

"What does what mean?"

"Love." Letty spat out like it was a distasteful word.

"You know what love is." Mia scoffed, turning attention to the car radio, hunting for another song instead of the traffic news.

"No, seriously. What's the difference between someone loving someone and someone just having a good friend they regularly fuck?" Bitterness from Dom's words harassing her every thought was showing. The mind-fuck had drained all patience the longer it remained unanswered.

"There's a difference." Mia argued, forgetting all about the radio.

"What is it?" Letty probed. "Like what makes it suddenly that much different?"

"Dom said he loved you?" Mia guessed quietly, neatly pulling all of Letty's mental fraying into one conclusion. No contesting sentence came back and Mia ruled her deduction correct. "I can't believe he finally got the balls to say it." Mia laughed once. "What did you say?" Mia instantly pinned her driver with a hard stare.

"I… I didn't."

"You didn't say anything?" Mia asked, confusion wrinkling her features. "But, you've loved him since forever."

"I know." Letty admitted, sagging into the seat as traffic ahead slowed, a speed limit change for some idiot having an accident in her lane. "I just…" she sighed heavily and twisted the wheel, pulling into the faster lane in the next gap and pushing on the gas again. She wasn't waiting for some dick to realise he couldn't drive for shit.

"You just what?" Mia pressed gently.

"Dom has loved every piece of ass he's ever fucked. He doesn't know what it means, he doesn't mean it. Not for me anyway."

"Liar." Mia called out her best friend. She earned a glare shot her way before Letty's attention went back to the road infront. "We both know Dom has never 'loved' his racer sluts. Not in the way you and me mean loved, and not in the way he means when he tells you, to your face, that he loves you."

"He-"

"No, don't even try and fight this. This is a giant thing for you two." Mia gushed. "Ask him." Mia enthusiastically struck out at Letty's arm, taking with the idea that blazed her. "Seriously, ask him if he's ever said it to anyone else. Even drunk. Even fucking some noisy bitch that thinks bedazzling your tits counts as clothing. Dom has never, ever, in the history of ever, told anyone he loves them." Mia continued. "There are very _few_ things he would even consider loving to the point of saying so. Family." Letty agreed, she saw how protective he was, she understood that one. "Oreo filling." Mia ticked up another finger. "Cold corona whilst watching a game." Another finger flicked up. "Whatever car of the month he's on" another finger and Mia turned directly to Letty, slowly rising the last finger on her hand as she stared at her. "You."

"He doesn-"

"You're up there with the Oreo filling now." Mia mocked. "So, if you didn't say anything to him, what did you do?"

"Ummm." Letty idly scratched at an itch as she passed the accident ahead, avoiding the start of the traffic hold-up. "Nothing." Letty lied.

" _You don't have to say anything." Dom smirked at her silent freak out, pulling her firmly between his open knees. He stood, slowly filling the space with his height, bringing them chest to chest. "You're beautiful." His good hand came to rest against her face, thumb slowly stroking her cheek, bringing her back from her mental failure. "And, I got some new movies." He nodded to his left where wrapped DVD cases sat, bought with his nightly guest in mind. "Or, we can just sleep." He provided her the perfect escape from facing his emotions. One she didn't have to run from, one that would keep her by his side. One that would let her blank the idea that he'd said anything at all about his feelings. "There's even ice-cream downstairs." he laughed softly, trailing his hand down from her face, down her arm. He linked their fingers and stepped back to the bed he had left, pretending he wasn't still hot for her tight body wrapped like a sleek purple present._

 _He was stopped by a tug on his hand, he turned to meet a handful of teenage brunette pulling herself against him, finding his lips instantly._

 _On tiptoes she walked him backwards to the bed._

" _Letty." It breathed a plea, a beg for permission, that this wasn't just one last kiss goodbye._

 _She answered him clearly, straddling a knee either side of his thigh as he sat back on the bedding. She rose up, finally taking the higher ground as she took control of the kiss, hands guiding his head back to deepen her taste. "Letty, if this is jus-" she sucked his bottom lip between hers, nibbling it as he so often did to her. It always felt good for her. "Just because of what I said, or M-" her short nails scraped lightly across his head as she angled him again, letting her tongue explore, chasing his. "Or Mia coming back." he finally finished._

" _Shut up." Letty answered._

 _His virginal princess had turned tiger temptress, shock mixing with lust in a way he hadn't expected._

 _Dom happily handed over his control, letting his demon seductress take what she wanted. For now._

 _His hands wrapped around her waist, the bones of the corset pressing against his forearm as he reached around to grab the globes of her ass that had teased him earlier._

 _God she was fucking sexy as hell right now._

" _I want you." Letty insisted. "All of you." she clarified with a grind to his hard on._

" _Condoms are in the nightstand." he supplied on a raspy breath._

 _He felt her lose rhythm for a second, perhaps she hadn't expected his agreement, but more likely, she was realising he was fully happy to sit back and let her take control. He wanted to see what she would do with it._

 _What would the woman he loved do when he gave her free reign?_

 _She stumbled with herself but found her footing, sealing her lips to press hard kisses on his neck. And she passed him his orders._

" _Undress me." As new as she was, her voice wavered, the command more of a question but Dom didn't falter, he tugged on the ribbon tie that had been tickling his hand and kept tugging the bow until it was free, the corset no longer pinned back._

 _It was relief, the damn thing was nowhere near as comfortable as she had led Dom to believe, it was like being squeezed to death by steel lollypop sticks that stuck into each rib and what little boobs she did have. But, it had made her look hot enough to scoop the victory she wanted._

 _Her teeth were playing on his throat in reward, in the way that had him achingly hard, eyes closing as he revelled in the sensation. But deep in the thrill, he slid a thumb higher and higher on her back, tugging the lace from the eyes of the structure until the material fell from her._

 _Dom broke her control enough to throw the corset from between them and turn her, depositing her on the edge of the bed, slowly sinking to his knees on the carpet between her legs._

 _She met his eyes, following his slow hands as they were chased by lips up from her feet, up to her thighs. He locked eyes as his thumbs caught the top of the boyshorts, shimmying them one side at a time around her ass and down to the floor._

 _Naked, she laid out before him._

 _He remained on his knees, happy to worship her._

" _Want me to eat you, Let? Cover your body with kisses." His eyes went straight to her nipples; old friend waiting to greet him properly. "Fuck you with my fingers?" he offered. "Tell me what you want."_

 _Nerves took her tongue again and she found herself shaking her head. "Boxers off." she managed to speak, a croak in her order._

 _He stood slowly, dragging his only clothing to the floor. His eyes were only for her. And hers went straight for the jackpot prize, an arm reaching out blindly to the bedside dresser._

 _As much as he wanted to, she wasn't half as prepared as he would like and he wasn't going through another round imaging her in any pain with this._

" _Let me play first, Let. Please." he begged, fingers already on her open thighs, higher and higher as he leaned over, settling himself onto the bed above her. "Please." he asked sickly sweet, the grin she loved on his lips._

 _Her head nodded and his lips went straight for her nipple, sucking leftie and repairing their relationship straight away. Rightie would have to wait as his fingers were already between her legs, running back and forth in the wetness of her curls and teasing her opening._

 _She submitted to him easily, a breath breaking as he sank a single finger in._

 _Fuck she was tight._

 _Too tight to take him straight away._

 _He groaned against her breast as she drove down on his finger._

 _More._

 _His thumb rose higher, circling her clit and urging in another digit._

 _She clawed at his back as he scissored the fingers inside her, stretching with each out stroke, pleasing with each thrust in. His thumb was the perfect accompaniment to her symphony of ecstasy._

" _You wanna come for me, Let? Feel you soak my fingers?" he swapped to her other forgotten nipple without waiting for an answer._

 _She was more of a moaning wreck than a logical brain at this point anyway._

 _Immensely proud of himself, Dom didn't realise the girl had a hand in his bedside drawer until he heard the crinkle of foil in her palm. "Let me." he pleaded, a flurry of kisses across her chest, his fingers drilling over her g-spot in a way that had her drop back against the bed, condom slipped to the bedding. "Let me make you feel good." he continued, rubbing inside her over and over._

 _Every breath for her seemed like it dragged in desperate oxygen and puffed out sense._

 _He nibbled an alternating pattern between her nipples, already choosing a new favourite as he withdrew his fingers and rolled on the condom. "You wanna try something different?" he mewled against her lips. "Wanna turn over on hands and knees?" Judging by how much her gspot soaked her, he was guessing she would be the biggest fan of doggy style._

 _Mindless to lust, his hands helped her over and kept her boiling with tweaks to her nipples as he did._

 _And finally._

 _Finally._

 _She moaned deep and long as he pressed into her from behind, dropped onto her forearms and pushing back against him instantly._

 _He held there, buried to hilt inside her, stretching her walls, pressed against her sex._

" _Oh god." she breathed out hard. "oh god."_

" _You wanna continue?" he asked, the memory of her virginity creeping up his spine; would it end the same way?_

" _Yes, yes. Oh god yes." she pleaded and he withdrew slowly._

 _She didn't give him chance to set any pace, she was already rolling back onto him, greedy for the sensation of being full again._

 _His fingers spread wide on her ass and he met her demand thrust for thrust._

 _She came with a banshee scream into his pillow the first time. The second, he laid them side by side, lifting her legs up and tight and sliding in between. His arms had bound her thighs tight to his chest and he drove into her at a punishing pace. She clamped down on him as she moaned his name deep and long the second time._

 _Third time lucky and tumbled into another orgasm with his thumb on her clit, spooning her slow and deep as he brought himself over the edge._

"I can't believe my brother finally said it." Mia mused, drawing Letty out of her own head, driving on autopilot.

"I guess." But Letty finally felt the silence in her mind, the quiet that hadn't been there as she laid in bed with him, replaying his confession over and over, unable to properly enjoy the afterglow. But now, maybe with a little more sorted, the haunting had finally stopped.

"So, what else did I miss?" Mia demanded.

"You know a chic called Rita from the races?" Letty asked casually.

"Hmmmm, maybe, I think so. I think she was one his latest flings before he decided he wasn't a complete asshole and found you."

"Would she have been a good sister-in-law?"

"Hell no, she was convinced the world was flat, like genuinely convinced. It's the only thing I remember about her." Then Mia realised the question. "Ummm, what did I miss exactly?"


	47. Chapter 47

I'm sorry, you guys absolutely deserved an early chapter for all the lovely things you said, but I'm absolutely swamped at work, so it's gunna have to stay at weekend posting until I can get back on top of things. Hopefully in time for a glorious finale (we're nearly there, stay with me).

* * *

 **Chapter Forty Seven: Or die.**

"How was Mia's summer job?" Letty's mother asked her as they sat at the dining room table, having tea together. Her mother was about the leave for work, Letty was about to leave for the Toretto's.

"Good. Said she could use the slides as much as she wanted whilst she was off duty. She's gunna tell me more tonight."

"Sounds good." And then her mother put down her cutlery with purpose. "I wanted to talk to you about a few things actually." Letty felt dread hang over her. "Two things mainly." Letty watched her mother juggle her thoughts in quick analytical planning before she met her eyes. "Your grandmother isn't doing very well. She's fallen twice whilst at the new home and they don't think it's meeting her needs. It's likely she'll need someone more suitable."

"Is she okay?" Her mother hadn't told her about the falls.

"She's ummm, only getting worse it seems." Letty saw her mother bite back the emotions, adopt her work tone and swallow down the sadness again. "I've discussed at length with the nurses and she's been recommended for a place at Riverdale nursing." Her mother had spoken about this place before. "But in full honestly Letty, it's further away, and more costly."

"Oh."

"Which brings me to my other point." her mother continued. "I've been offered charge nurse for A&E, it's more responsibility, but it's a better pay package." It was good news, so why was her mother looking like she was contemplating turning this down. "But it's permanent nights. For the foreseeable future."

"But you're already on nights, it works."

"The hospital therapist thinks things would improve if it went back to shift work, to spend days with you again. Especially over what's left of the holidays."

"Well, what do you want to do?"

"It's not about what I want Letty, it's about what benefits the family; you and my mother."

Letty understood; she couldn't have it both ways. Either she came onto shift work to better her relationship with her daughter, or, she took the night promotion to better care for her mother.

To Letty, it was a no-brainer.

"But we're doing much better." Letty insisted. "We're sitting down eating meals together." Although her mother's 'evening meal' was toast and cereal for her 'breakfast' "We have time to go out shopping, to the cinema. We can make this work on nights." Of that Letty was sure; they'd been surviving on nights since she started them. Not always well, but they always managed to get through. "Besides, Gran needs the extra care. I can put in from my shifts at the garage too if we can't make ends meet."

"Letty." Her mother smiled and reached across the table to take her daughters hand. "That's not necessary at all. We're not in financial dire straits. At worse, we'd just have to tighten our belts. But your money is your own."

"What are you going to do?" Letty asked.

"I thought I'd think it over for a few nights, get your opinion and weight up the options for my mother." Her mother finished off her toast. "I'll let you know as soon as I've made my decision?" she offered, collecting the pots from the table and taking them to the bowl to wash. Her mother stopped as her hands went into the soapy water. "How are you and Dom?"

Letty took another bite before answering, extra time to plan a mother-approved response.

"Good." Was all her brain could offer.

"You two got another date planned?" Why now was her mother grilling her?

Letty went for the safest option.

"Yeah. Don't know what we're doing yet though. Probably sort it tonight."

Letty didn't even know where they were. She didn't know what it meant, she didn't know how he felt, or if it was true.

"I see." Her mother turned back to the dishes. "But if you need me for anything you know where I am."

Letty finished her plate and as she brought it over to her mother's soapy hands, she was struck by what she could only think was irritation of the mind.

"Can I ask you a question? About Dad?" It was still a sensitive subject. Letty saw it in the way her mother took a slow breath. "I don't have to, it's not important." Letty backpedalled quickly. Things were just good at home. She wasn't rocking the boat.

"No." her mother spoke softly. "Please ask me." Her mother turned to her with strong eyes, but ones heavy with emotion. "We should remember him. I need to be able to talk about him."

"I… uhhh." Letty had lost all motivation to ask but she couldn't leave her mother without the other half of this supportive step. "How did you know he loved you?"

Letty watched a smile bloom on her mother's face, one that knew why she was asking, but one that remembered her own moment of love too.

"It was a boiling summer." her mother started, hands busy washing the dirty dishes. "And we'd booked to go to some lake or camping trip, I don't really remember, but we'd arranged with our group of friends to all go together, and I'd only been seeing your dad a short time." Her mother smiled into the bubbly water. "And I got Pleurisy and I had to cancel, but I told him I'd go the next time and to go have fun, and catch whichever legendary fish he was convinced lived there." she laughed lightly. "And on the day of the trip, he turns up at my front door, all packed and ready to go and he moves himself into the apartment, even pitches a tent in the tiny space I had as a living room. He put plastic fish in the sink and puts a mosquito net over the open balcony door." Letty smiled at her mother's laugher. "And he says he'll make sure I get my holiday." A sniffle broke the jovial moment. "That there was no point in him going if I wouldn't be there." Her mother emptied the bowl and dried her hands on the dishtowel, badly hiding the way her hands wiped under her wet eyes. "He even spent half an hour sticking glow in the dark stars on the ceiling. Because he wanted to sleep under the stars with me."

"Is that when he told you he loved you?" Letty asked quietly.

"Oh god no." Letty mother turned back to her with a laugh. "It took him months to actually get the words out. But it's not the words that matter, they can come months after. It's what they do that makes the words true. That makes you feel like you'd never walk under a grey cloud ever again."

"When did he say them?"

"A few months after that. I'd had the worst day, everything had gone wrong. I had even yelled at him and told him I was cancelling our date that night and every other one he had planned. And he just turned up at my apartment, this giant bouquet of flowers, bigger than his head, probably worth more than he could sensibly afford and he told me he wasn't letting me go that easily. And after I'd yelled at him and screamed all my frustration out, he was still there, stirring pasta on the stove, nodding along, agreeing with everything. And I asked him why he had stayed. He said it was simple; that he loved me."

"Just like that?"

"Just like that." her mother concurred. "The pasta was horrible. He'd lost track of spices whilst I was shouting and it tasted like the saltiest stock pot known to man. But, it was… it was perfect."

"Did you say it back?" Letty asked, intrigued.

"I'd said it first, a few weeks before him. And he'd told me he liked my dress in response. So… I said the exact same line to him. Between the pasta and that, he had me laughing all that evening."

"Sounds really nice, ma."

"It was." Her mother smiled brightly, taking a deep breath.

It was then Letty realised they'd had a full conversation about her father without her mother running out of the room to cry. Progress.

Letty crossed the room and wrapped her arms around her mother's waist, a hug she hadn't initiated for years. "Oh god, it must be serious if you're hugging me." her mother teased. Letty squeezed her tighter and stepped back quickly.

"I gotta go see Mia. I'll be back by 11." Letty promised, already out of the kitchen and down the hall.

"Yeah, you're going to see _Mia_ after that line of questioning." Her mother's voice sarcastically follow her through the hallway and out the door, her laughter chasing it.

* * *

Letty bypassed the best friend in the living room with a promise of "Two minutes, Mi" and ran up the stairs to Mia's brother's bedroom.

Courage strong and latino proud, she entered the open-doored bedroom with words bursting forth as if to be burning her tongue the longer she held them in.

"You love me." she accused, meeting a smirk in response.

"I'll swing by tomorrow." Dom spoke into the mobile by his ear, wrapping up the conversation.

"Sorry." Letty's fire backed down quickly, embarrassment filtering through.

"'s just Vince." Dom replied, call ended and mobile set on the bed, grin returned and arms crossed over his chest knowingly. His confession had finally trickled through to her brain.

"He's not coming back to work tomorrow, is he?" Surely he was still owed a few more sick days, especially considering the state of the store.

"Nah, not yet. Figured I'd drop by. Put some sense into his thick head." Dom admitted with a chuckle.

"Like that'll happen." Letty scuffed her trainers against each other, an anxious habit.

"You need me to say it again?" he asked after a second. "Tattoo it on your hand?" Voice laced heavy with tease.

It stoked her fire again, built her nerve brighter than before.

"Why?" she demanded, eyes scorching into him.

He didn't mind, a perfect picture of relaxation. Leant against the bedframe like he hadn't a care in the world.

"Why what?" he played the fool perfectly well.

"You know what." she insisted hard. "Why do you… feel what you feel?" she chickened out of the words at the last moment.

"I'll be honest," but his tone was already saying he was going to mock her. "There was this smoking chic at the races that made friends with my little sister, and she just wouldn't get out of my way. No matter how hard I tried to resist her. So I stopped trying." He smirked.

"No. I mean now. Why now?" Her hands were up, talking with her gestures as she often noted her mother doing when telling her off. She cut them back down, folding them on her chest so they would stop giving away her mood so easily. "Is it because you want me to forgive you?"

"Really?" His eyebrows went high, doing little to cover how much the allegation hurt. The lack of trust stinging a sore spot once more.

"Yeah." Direct and to the point, it was angry Letty bubbling beneath the surface.

"No." he spoke calmly and slowly, like one was logically convincing a grizzly bear that you wouldn't make a tasty snack so they shouldn't try. "It's not because you're mad, and it's not because I want you to forgive me."

"So why?"

"What do you want me to say, Letty?" he chuckled once. "That you did something that ticked a box? It's not that simple."

"Is it true?" she followed with. "Do you love me?"

"I wouldn't say it if I didn't." The words came out unintendedly harsh. He sighed and rehashed them quickly. "I love you Letty. And I don't know why now, I don't know why I didn't say them before now. It's not just because we were arguing, because knowing you and knowing me, that's gunna happen a lot, and using 'I love you' to win, is only going to work the one time if I did." He smugly swung his legs off the bed, rising to his full height and letting it shadow her. "I'm not saying it because I think you want to hear it, or to manipulate you into anything." There was no point denying it; it had crossed her mind. He could tell by her lack of surprise as he mentioned it. It was fully expected on both sides.

"So why _are_ you saying it?" she asked again, fire rising. She wanted an answer. Needed it.

"Because it's true."

"I don't get it." she confessed, turning from him only to slam back to meet his eyes a moment later, argument reformed. "What do you even mean by it?"

"Alright." He took another slow step closer, a nod of his head as he understood more; Letty needed it breaking down, she needed it spoon fed, she needed hand holding as she walked through a territory she knew nothing of. He wasn't exactly an expert guide, but he could be there all along. "For me, it means, doing this." His hands captured her, releasing them from the tight cross on her chest.

He walked backwards to the desk chair and pulled her to stand caged between his knees, her height giving her the power, his hold giving him the comfort. "It's the feeling I get when I know you're coming over." His thumbs stroked the back of her hands. "It's the rush I get when you surprise me by storming into my room and making a fuss." He smirked, another rush she was responsible for only moment ago. "It's arguing with you, bringing a smile to your face, racing with you cheering me on and knowing there is nothing I can do to make you lose faith in me." She turned her eyes to her feet, she couldn't look into his eyes as he said this, it was too much. "It's something as simple as wanting to eat with you, to sleep next to you, to fight side by side with you."

This was the part of the romantic movie the music would swell and the audience would slide to the edge of their seats for the kiss. But Letty wasn't the 'sweep you off your feet' girl. "I want you even when you're screaming murder at me, pulling your freaked out 'what the hell' face and ignoring the idea you might have real emotions underneath your battle armour." Letty rolled her eyes at his drama but his words were seeping under said armour and they were sinking in deep, twisted with those emotions that she denied having and pulling them out whether they wanted to be out or not. "I want you to help me pick up our first house, our bedroom colours, every future car we have." He took a slight joy in bringing out the 'WTF' face he'd mentioned before, as if she was proving his point for him. "And maybe I'm selfish, maybe I'm greedy, possibly even a little masochistic knowing your difficulties with any trusting nature. But maybe, I'm a man lost in love, wanting to give his girl everything she deserves, and hoping she keeps giving me the greatest gift of all; letting me love her."

He saw the effect of his declaration, he saw it swim in her mind, chasing every beat of her heart as it pulled it in. He saw the glistening in her eyes as she turned them from him again.

And he let it be.

He gave her the moments in the quiet that she needed to feel everything he had said.

"And the others?" she asked hushed, a breath that perhaps she dare not think about.

"What others?" Soft and sweet, he curled her in, chin titled skyward to find the eyes she tried to hide from him. "How is anyone meant to compare with you?"

"Did you used to tell them? Before?" He knew what she meant.

"No." They weren't words worthy of the racer chasers, not even in the heat of the moment. "Never. Nobody but you." To mark his point, he felt compelled to put action into his promise. "You still doubt it, then let me show you how much you mean to me." Letty couldn't help it, her eyes fell to his lips, expecting a kiss, a roll on the floor, a tangle in the sheet. Dom couldn't help but chuckle. "If you ever ask me to; I would lose a race. For you." The weight of his words made her dizzy. "Just say the word."

"But…" it was sacrilege, Dom would _never_ throw a race. Yet everything in his tone spoke honestly, everything in his features echoed truth.

"I love you Letty, anybody else is just detail on a world that you and me could own. And if you still don't believe me." He grinned. "Then give me time, and I'll prove it to you, everyday."

* * *

Letty was still a little numb when she wandered to Mia's bedroom.

"And here I thought you'd be in there all night." Mia jeered, mobile in hand, tapping out another reply to Alex no doubt. "And I have plans to download a virus onto his laptop later." Mia was still sticking by her in sister-solidarity with regards to the Rita incident. She was periodically causing sister chaos in support.

"Dom loves me." Letty echoed in awe.

"Damn right he does girl!" Mia whooped, abandoning the phone and looping her best friend into a hug. "What's not to love!" another squeal escaped Mia and the hug tightened. "Wait," the boa-constrictor released for a breath, "Does this mean you two are completely, a hundred percentedly, back together?"

"I don't know." Letty breathed out a laugh, Mia's joy infectious.

"This doesn't mean I have to stop right? Because there's a set of stink bombs in his shoes which I should remove if so…"

"No." Letty laughed.

"Yay! Becau- Oh my God, this is great; Alex is coming over for tea next week. Dad phoned and he's coming back tomorrow morning and he said that I should invite Alex over after camp because I wasn't going on a date with him until they'd officially met him. So," Mia took a long breath and stepped back from her pseudo sister. "I need buffers, and you being here with Dom is the perfect buffer, you can kick him under the table when he's being a dick."

"I'll wear my spiked boots?"

The snake hug returned with a high pitched scream of happiness.

"Oh, did I tell you about Cassie?" Mia flipped from one topic to the next, the little things that occurred on the weeks apart all backlogging in the 'need to talk to Letty about' pile and were flooding free now. "Her boyfriend broke up with her and posted all the naked pictures she sent him while they were together. There are pictures of her va-jay-jay circling the internet!"

* * *

Tuesday 1pm, Mr T was back from the races, he walked into the garage and let out a long sigh at the stains on the floor, the battered markings throughout the business he build single-handedly.

Letty stopped from where she worked on the Yaris, eyes straight to the father figure that stood drained and disappointed.

Guilt settled over her without a just cause.

"Dad." Dom stepped out of the office but halted his own approach.

The rest of the garage seemed to come to a sympathetic stop, Jesse and Leon were silent as they came forward into view, Ella resting on the broom handle from brushing sand on the latest oil spill. Even Vince had begged to come in, strictly on eyes-only duties, but he stood from the chair of the office and rested side by side with Dom, both equally as burdened by guilt. "We'll fix it." Dom swore.

"It's… just." Mr T turned to his son, fighting to pull out a difficult smile. "It's hard to see." Whilst some parts functioned, the Toretto garage had remained open, Dom had struck a deal with the nearest garage that anything the Toretto's couldn't currently do, they would direct customers over and honour their service and pricing. Dom was making up the difference in charges from his own pocket.

There was a hush over the garage, a mourning moment for all Mr T had done, all that had been lost by some stupid fight. "No glum faces though." Mr T instructed. "We're all still here, still alive, still working, still smiling I hope." Mr T's words gathered the family in closer. "This," he gestured to the workers that stood around him. "Is what matters." Mr T's eyes went to the courtyard, no doubt thinking about his daughter next door too, Sonja by extension. "We can take a bit of destruction, as long as we keep together." Then he turned to Vince. "Even if some of us have staples keeping our brains in." he smiled. "Or enough bruises to look like you're hiding a solar system under your skin." He turned with a disappointed frown to his own son. "Things can be replaced, people cannot." Letty found herself pinned by his eyes, a thankful smile on his lips. Letty turned away from it quickly. "The only thing we can do, is move forward, start over, and… talk to someone about getting CCTV here."

"CCTV?" Dom asked. "We don't need it." It was just another expensive out of his dad's pocket. "We know why th-"

"I know, son." Mr T wasn't blind to the truth. "I know what this was, and why this happened. But there is a difference between a personal grudge and wilful damage to an establishment. From what it sounds like, you two were lucky this wasn't a lot worse."

"Dad, I-"

"If something worse had occurred." Mr T interrupted softly. "Would you expect me to leave that be? So, since you understand more animalistic tendencies than fatherly concern, let me word this in a way you will understand." Mr T grinned wide, no malice at all. "Evolve or die."

"Urgh, really, we yamming on with some melodramatic do or die situation?" Mia's voice spilled in and she joined the family circle with a hand on a hip. "The only thing these meatheads understand is a gas pedal." Mia rolled her eyes. "Which co-incidentally started this whole things off." Smartly, she smirked at her brother, score up for Mia.

"Ride or die, Mia." Dom smarted.

"Huh, ride or die. I like it." Vince echoed quietly.

Mr T took a long heavy breath and a short blown sigh.

"I'll sort out the CCTV." Deciding he was too mentally drained to referee another offspring war, Mr T headed back to his office, his judgemental eyes heavy on his son's bruises, his fatherly touch passed to Vince's shoulder.


	48. Chapter 48

We're nearing the end, and I'm getting that feeling like i'm saying goodbye to an old friend. I always get emotional near the end of a story.

Thank you for sticking with me. We've got a few more chapters until the big finale, but here's your next fix.

* * *

 **Chapter Forty Eight: Monsters**

Wednesday came quick, and with it; the last leg of the new hires. Dom and Mr T were busy in the office. Letty and Ella were working the floor, watching each new contestant enter and either come out for a tour or leave back to their supped up shit car. Leon was in the back, popping out a dent in a soccer mum's BMW. Vince had a follow-up with a doctor but was expected back at any point. He'd left the wiring on the Audi a complete mess, so he best be back. And Jesse was at home, on pins and needles, awaiting the final assessment on the man he'd backed all the way here, all the way into the office, sitting before the big boss hopefully meeting every tick on the checklist Mr T had compiled.

"If he's as good as Jesse says." Ella offered, eyes on the office windows where Mr T once again stood and shook hands with the guy. "Guess we've got another brain box." she concluded.

Letty peered around the door of the Range Rover.

"He's hired?"

"Dunno, Mr T seems to like him. Hasn't stopped smiling since he started shaking his hand. And it was a long hand shake."

"Jesse said he was good." Letty conceded.

"Looks like Mia's gunna be baking a welcome cake." Ella smirked, turning back to the task at hand as the office door opened.

"I have to say, this is all very impressive." Mr T was speaking distantly, but both female ears were tuned in. "I'm sure the boys will be interested as well, on a more personal level. But yes, I think you'll be a very good fit here."

"Oh, thanks Mr Toretto. It's a bit of a move. Got my niece to take care of, but she starts school soon. Figured it'd be good to work close to her and Jesse says there's a kindergarten nearby."

"If there's anything we can do to make the move any easier, do let us know." Mr T was soothing, the kind of 'I feel for this guy and want him working here' soothing they all had heard before. "Dom will show you around and we'll get some paperwork drawn up." Another firm handshake and Mr T watched his son take the newest employee around. "Ladies." Mr T greeted, making his way over with large footsteps. "I think we have a new employee." He put an arm over each female and pulled them for a short half hug.

"He fits the bill then?" Ella asked with a laugh.

"Above and beyond."

"Cocky asshat?" Letty guessed.

"More modest than all of you combined." Mr T took pleasure in correcting her. "I think he'll slot in nicely. And he's way more talented than any of the others I've seen."

"Hey, Shaun was good." Ella defended her catch.

"Shaun was good, but Javier… he's five Shaun's combined."

"Sound like you got a bit of a crush there, Mr T." Ella teased.

"Sometimes, I look at my family and I think I'm the luckiest man alive. And then somedays, I wish my first born had been Javier." he joked. "Guess I best start the paperwork." With a smile, Mr T returned to his office, happy with his decision.

* * *

"And, back to the office." Dom crossed his arms on his chest and turned back to Javier. He was a boy wonder. He was Jesse's mind, with Vince's brawn, Leon's street smarts and his own ambition. Dom couldn't say he had any of the girls in him though, none of Ella's grace and thankfully none of Letty's temper. He'd fit in well.

"It looks like a great place to come to. Hell, I'd even enjoy coming into work."

"Jesse said you weren't enjoying IT."

"I can handle it. I'll do it for my niece, keep food on the table, roof over our heads. But… to work in a place like this. It's just… I dunno. I'm going out of my mind."

"I'll take that as a positive."

"Oh yeah man. I mean, this is like a dream come true."

"Yeah?" Pride bloomed in Dom's chest. This guy was above and beyond.

"I always figured I'd work on cars as a little something on the side, a hobby that never took off, a life I never got to follow. That I'd be in dark garages at the end of crummy streets, getting paid in favours and hating every Monday morning."

"Not anymore, man." Dom grinned. "Job comes with a lot of perks. Your ride will never suffer."

"Oh man, and I guess the women aren't too bad either." Javier smirked.

"Nah." Dom had to agree. "Ride with us and you'll never suffer for that either."

"You get a lot in the shop?"

"Had a uh… 'lady' in the garage earlier in the year, she told every single one of her girlfriends. It was mini skirts and crop top season for two months."

"Damn." Javier sighed. "You guys uh… not got a problem with, making friendly with the clients?"

"Friendlier the better." Dom grinned. Javier was going to cause Leon some challenges with the ladies. It was time Leon worked for his women anyway.

"Gotta say. I uhh, passed one of your 'clients' on the way in. I'd like to get a whole lot friendlier with her."

"Yeah?"

"Petite little spitfire, she was driving the Range Rover. God, the things she made me wanna do." Dom chuckled in agreement. He remembered the days his dick used to play fantasies of the dirty mechanic and the uptown girl with a broken car.

"Fair game." Dom offered. "I'll see if we're ready for a signature." He ducked into the office.

Dom was back out a minute later, papers ready in his hand, they just needed a signature. His dad was as eager as he was to get this guy started.

Javier was straining to see past the shutters as Dom stepped back out. "Whats up?" Dom asked, side by side with him, trying to see what he saw.

"She's still here you know. The babe in the Vogue."

"Yeah? What's she look like?"

"Brunette, tight body." Javier grinned. "She just walked past and I got visions of her on her knees you know man." Javier offered in boyish solidarity. "Pretty little thing probably wouldn't mind a rough guy to show her a good time." And then came Letty, twirling keys around her finger as she returned to the paperwork, having finished on the Land Rover. "Ohhhhhh, see what I mean man, can't you just fucking imagine giving it to her hard and fast."

"Yo-"

"Javier." Mr T interrupted, head already hanging out of the office, obviously hearing everything and foreseeing the boiling rage that was about to lead to more bloodshed in his just-cleaned garage. "We've hit a bit of a speedbump, I don't know if Dom got to telling you. There's been a bit of a snag with the paperwork."

"Oh?" Javier turned back from where Letty bend ass high over the workbench, the girl completely oblivious to the comments made. "It is a problem?"

"Why don't you step back into the office and I'll talk you through it. Dom." Mr T's eyes purposefully met with his son. "I think I heard Mia calling for Letty, you wanna just sort that out for a second?" Read: take Letty and calm down.

Dom marched over the court like a man possessed, easily collecting Letty and pulling her through into the back where Leon was trying to fit a new rear panel on the BMW, the damage way worse than thought.

"Leon," Dom called quickly. "Make sure _Javier_ ," the name was sneered "leaves the premises."

Leon straightened up to pull a face but saw the bloody murder on Dom, expected the worse and complied with request, leaving the two alone.

"What's with the caveman routine?" Letty teased, no complaint from her at all. That didn't change when he pressed her against the vehicle and sealed his lips to hers in a hungry, desperate kiss. He pressed her to him with just one hand curled around the small of her back, the other grounding him on the frame of the car. "What's wrong?" she asked quietly, knowing from his kiss alone something had not gone to plan.

"I want you." he ground out, tension in his arms, hard lines on his back.

"Now?" Letty purred, rolling her hips against his. Mis-reading his emotional need for connection as a physical one.

A physical one that would also sate his need.

Dom returned his lips to hers, instead of stealing her comfort, he stirred her lust, tongue dancing with hers, heavy breathing mixing in the room as hands groped. "At work?" Letty whispered against him. "Here?" but her hands were already sliding down his front, finding the belt buckle.

"I'll make it up to you later." he promised.

"Think I owe you a few actually. How about you let me have this one just for you." Letty purred against his ear, tiptoes to enable her touch. "I wanna suck you."

If he was having any trouble getting hard, those four words would have fixed it.

Jesus Christ, did she know the effect she had on him when she said shit like that?

Oh god, and there was follow through.

Her small hands pressed his hips to the car behind, the belt buckle open and zip down.

She sank down his body, down onto her knees and became the dirty fantasy Javier had painted in his mind.

Only in this scenario; Letty was his. All his.

A possessive male rage surged through him, amplified as she pushed down the band of his boxers, her lips pressing kisses to him, tongue poking out to lay flat against his exposed length.

"Fuck, Jesus Letty."

"Please." she whispered, eyes flashed up to his.

God he could have blown then and there.

"Yeah, yeah, quickly." he encouraged.

She grinned up at him and pointed his dick at her lips, slowly parting, slowly wrapping them around his head, super fucking slowly sliding him further into her. "Letty." His hand was already in her ponytail. She didn't care, just hollowed out her cheeks, dragging her tongue against his underside as she drew back. Slowly. "Fucking hell." he grunted out, a deep ragged breath slipping from him.

And then she dove back, fast and short, playing with his head like it was her favourite lolly.

Her tongue once again demonstrated the power teenage girl's magazines could deliver. For a virginal woman, she knew far too much about how to give a blowjob. And it wasn't from practice.

The odd graze of teeth made it clear she wasn't the pro her technique claimed her to be, but fucking hell as if he could master the intent to complain; she was fucking amazing.

Through the haze, he could hear Javier's voice as he asked Mr T to keep his details on file, should whatever lie he was told no longer exist.

But then Letty slid him deep, nose pressing to his groin and Javier was gone from his mind entirely.

She swallowed against his girth, her jaw hurting in a way she didn't have last time and she withdrew back but Dom's face was a picture of ecstasy, his fingers tight in her hair.

She repeated her action again, revelling in the way his eyes blazed bright then screwed tight.

Just as Letty thought her jaw was going to drop off his free hand came to join her efforts, wrapping around his base length, his hand in her hair untangling but encouraging her efforts on his tip to continue.

"Letty. I'm gunna come."

"Can I… taste it?" she asked sweetly, begging eyes up at him, the elusive virginal blush spreading on her cheeks.

Dom couldn't manage more than a nod and his fingers guided her mouth back to him as he brought himself off with a strangled groan.

He opened his eyes to Letty wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, pulling a strange face.

Fuck.

How was he meant to go back to work thinking about this memory being carved eternally into his brain?!

"Do I taste like that too?" Letty's voice echoed around the space between them and Dom found himself with a satisfied grin.

"Not exactly." he offered, fingers extracted from her hair and his dick, taking both of her hands and pulling her up.

She stumbled on her legs, a gasp with her newly straightened legs. "You okay?"

"Nobody tells you it hurts your knees." she commented, rubbing her knees.

"Fuck sorry, Letty."

"Next time, I want a cushion or something."

With a chuckle, she was drawn back in for a kiss.

Damn woman was going to give him a heart attack. "And some jaw exercises." She stretched out her mouth and wobbled it side to side.

"I'll make it up to you." he promised, a kiss to each corner of her mouth as she smiled at him.

"What happened?" Leon's voice returned into the room and Dom quickly shoved himself back into his clothing.

Letty was more on the ball, stepping around to greet Leon before he saw something he couldn't forget.

"What did Mr T say?" Letty asked, completely in the dark about the context but saving Dom from an awkward conversation with his dick hanging out.

"Said we weren't hiring Javier." Leon spoke unbelieving of what he had heard. "This guy was awesome, he was going to move here for the job."

"Dunno then. Mr T must have had his reasons." Letty justified. Mr T was the most fair person she had ever met. "Maybe he was a serial killer or something?" she guessed, heading back to work and pretending she wasn't the horniest woman in the world with wet underwear.

Letty flourished a signature on the paperwork for the Range Rover and headed to the office. Ella fell into step with her though.

"Looking a little flushed there, Letty." she teased, lifting a strand of hair that had escaped the ruined ponytail Dom was responsible for. "I'm sure your bodyguard had nothing to do with it." Ella laughed, nudging Letty with a sister-solidarity elbow, nodding at Dom standing against the wall, eyes fully focussed on his girl.

"Why aren't we keeping Javier?" Distraction successful, Letty swapped to a safer topic.

"Don't know. Don't particularly care. He seemed liked he sucked." Ella spoke casually, rolling her eyes.

"But, you said he w-"

"It doesn't matter. I have a bigger problem." Ella pulled the next worksheet before Letty could put her hands on it, holding it out of her reach, demanding full attention. "It's my birthday soon. And, I have only one wish, but, I might need to borrow you."

"No." Letty's kneejerk answer fell out before she had a chance to think.

"I haven't even said what for yet." Ella grinned wide, not at all perturbed. "You're kinda badass, and slightly hostile and grrrr." Letty rose an eyebrow but couldn't deny anything. "And, I want Pookie back."

"Pookie?" Letty made another grab for the worksheet, but Ella's luxuriously long legs gave her a clear height advantage. Letty dropped back to the flat feet and crossed her arms.

Ella had been a difficult start, but, since, she'd actually been quite good to them. And… as much as it hurt to admit, Letty actually liked her. So, a birthday present wouldn't be too far out of her remit. "Fine, I'll do it, just tell me what it is."

"Pookie's my puppy." Ella gushed, thrusting the work at Letty so she could bounce with happiness. "And my stupid ex decided he was taking her when I left his sorry ass. He doesn't even love her, he just wants to punish me for not sticking around when he was caught with his cousin." Ella threw her hands up. "His cousin!" she repeated. "I mean that's low, right." Ella's tone turned darker, like the wound still bled deep, still stung, still tormented her. In a way that had her planning sadistic things. "Like I'm worse than sleeping with a family relation, and he took my pookie, can you believe that shit?!" Anger was clouding Ella's tone and Letty strangely found herself warming to the women even more so.

"What do you want me to do?"

"He probably has her in some tiny cage in his back bedroom. I just need someone to go in through the back and get her whilst I distract him." A ploy that came out at speed, probably pre-planned for weeks. "Although, it could help if I had some muscle." Ella's eyes rolled to the bodyguard that was still tracking Letty.

"Sure. Dom'll come too." Letty agreed on his behalf.

"Great! Friday will be best. He's usually stoned by 6pm." Ella threw a giant smile and wave over to Dom and then slipped back to her duty list.

Scheduled B and E was after work, in the evening's sweltering heat. Ella had turned up in the shortest denim shorts that could exist without being called knickers. She stepped out of her car with the bustiest top she had. She said she needed to look distracting. She definitely ticked that box. Letty was having a hard time not thinking about how Ella's shadow looked like the perfect woman. Even as she crouched down the side of Ella's ex's home, she kept taking her eyes back to those impossibly long legs that strode in time with Dom's.

The idea was simple. Ella knocked on the door, asked for Pookie back, said she had a friend who was willing to fight for the dog if he resisted.

Best case scenario; he handed the dog over for fear of Dom's intimidating stare.

Worst; Ella kept him busy whilst Letty snuck in and stole the dog.

Ella lifted her delicate hands and rapped press-on nails between the door bars. The neighbourhood was identical all the way down, bars on the windows, bars on the doors. Couches in the street, dustbins overflowing. A musty smell drifting from old battered cars and alley cats with fleas. A classy joint.

"Jim, I want Pookie back." Letty heard Ella echo out her demand loud and strong after the door opened.

" _You're back?"_

"Fuck off, I'm here for my dog and nothing more." Ella didn't back down as a scruffy trainers stepped out, closer to her.

" _Who's this?"_

"My boyfriend." Ella answered, giving Letty whiplash. Boyfriend was not the plan. Letty peered further out, to where Ella wrapped her arms around Dom, a fingernail in blazing pink trailed down his chest. Dom stood stock still, giving nothing away.

Letty had to give it to her, she was quick on her feet, but this was far from ideal. "Last chance, Pookie, now. Or I'll have to take much more serious action."

" _Bring it on."_

The challenge was heard loud and clear and started Letty moving to the back of the property, over broken beer bottles and a waterbutt that looked like it had once been used as a bong.

"My lawyer is crawled all over this paperwork right now. You know I legally own Pookie, you know she's coming back with me."

" _Damn bitch is psycho."_

Letty found the backdoor to be open and unlocked just as Ella predicted and slipped in.

The house smelled stale, an odour of burnt toast and cigarettes clinging to certain items.

The carpets were stained, the post was left untouched, the hallway covered in cardboard boxes of unknown origin. Following the smell of Chinese takeout, Letty located the metal corner of a dog cage. A large dog cage for such a small dog.

Only, it wasn't a small dog inside.

It was a large Rottweiler sitting on its hind legs, tongue rolling out of its mouth up until it made eye contact with Letty.

A sharp bark ripped out of its lungs and Letty stumbled backwards.

This couldn't be Pookie.

Pookie was a tiny dog's name.

A handbag dog's name.

"That's Pookie, calling out for me! She needs me!" Ella's voice ricocheted bounced down the hall along with some more protests.

The Rottweiler was Pookie.

And from the dropped jaw and big eyes, Pookie remembered Ella too.

The dog pressed itself up against the bars, paws struggling to be free, a whine breaking out.

Letty approached slowly, wary of the size and temperament of the dog.

This was absolutely _not_ in the deal.

A cold nose butted against Letty's hand as soon as she touched the cage door. It came with a whine and Letty suddenly found no qualms with undoing the hinge and taking the dog by the collar.

It pulled her instantly, yanking her by the arm out of the room and back to the corridor.

It took more strength than Letty would care to admit, but she steered it back outside, back around the obstacle course garden and back to Ella's view as the door got slammed in her face with the promise of a long legal battle. As soon as the dog saw its former master Letty had no prayer of holding onto it, her grip slipped from the collar as it lurched away from her and met Ella mid run.

" _You Bitch!"_ was heard from inside and Dom squared himself up to the door ready for the impending fight.

It never came, not with the answering growl from the guard dog protectively soft-paw mauling Ella.

Seemed Ella was not the only one who didn't like her ex.

"Pookie?" Letty huffed with attitude. "Pookie is not a name for this kind of dog."

"Well, Jim named her Pookinstein because she was born with a dodgy ear that needed operating one, but she doesn't deserve to be a monster." Ella expanded, easily guiding the dog into the backseat of her car, encouraging Letty right up alongside it.

Dom got the grace of the front seat and Ella peeled herself out of the neighbourhood at speed, a grin painted wide.

"Dom, you were great!" Ella's hand left the gearstick and went straight to Dom's chest. "Thank you." Eyes turned to the rear view then. "And Letty, I cannot thank you enough, you brought me Pookie back!" she squealed. "Best birthday present, ever! And it's not even my birthday yet!" Ella's hands squeezed Dom's bicep once more in thanks.

Letty felt the dogs cold nose press against her hair and the warmth of a good deed swell in her chest.

Ella wasn't half bad at all.


	49. Chapter 49

My sweethearts, this one will feel like a filler chapter, but it puts all my dominoes in a row, so stay with me. We're almost at the end. And I think the end will be chapter 52 (subject to change, editting can expand initial counts).

Have a lovely week, I'll be here, same time, same day with some Drama!

* * *

 **Chapter Forty Nine: Peace, love and war**

Letty stretched across to the coffee table to collect the mobile as it vibrated.

' _Busy?'_ it read.

"Let me guess; Mia?" her mother joked, it was her night off and they were watching a psychological thriller on tv together.

"Ummmm." Letty paused, attention fully focussed on the text.

"Ah, so Mia's brother." her mother sussed quickly.

"He's just saying goodnight." she offered.

' _watching a movie, how's Vince?'_ Dom had left an hour ago to have a man's night with Vince. There was a hidden agenda though, Dom was putting an end to his little sister's high handedness with the garage plans.

"Things are going well then?" Letty heard her mother's own ulterior motive shimmer beneath her question. She may look as if she was absently asking, involved entirely with the unfolding plot line, but Letty knew better by the way the coffee cup had paused on its way to her mouth.

"I guess." Letty offered back.

"You guess?" her mother repeated slowly. "I suppose I can finish the film myself if needs be." Her mother twirled the words over her tongue, giving Letty the perfect support to leave. "But you'll be back by 11pm, right?"

"He's, ummm, gone to visit Vince tonight."

"Which explains why you're at home watching a movie with me, at least." her mother laughed.

Letty's mobile vibrated again in her hands, drawing both Ortiz's attentions.

' _Tired and grumpy. He pissed off Tessa.'_

"And how is the patient?" her mother continued, trying her best to not look over her daughter's shoulder and read the message.

"Tired and grumpy." Letty parroted as she tapped out a reply, the guys were having a 'poker night' of sorts.

' _You're only going to piss him off more with poker.'_ Vince was not maths strong, card games went with the picture of manliness Vince liked to think he had, but a few games in and he would get annoyed with losing repeatedly. He'd upturned the table the last time they played.

"He back working yet?" her mother probed, clinical mind whirring.

"Light duties only. Mostly paperwork and booking appointments." Letty grinned to herself. "He's not a fan but Mr T won't let him back on the floor until he's happy he's fully healed."

"Good." Assessment approved, her mother went back to watching the tv and only flickering her gaze to the corner of her eye when the phone buzzed again.

' _Easiest way to get him to give in with Mia's stupid replanning. You in bed?'_

Letty could imagine him sitting on Vince's dark brown sofa, shuffling poker chips like a lord as he summed cards and weighed risk and luck in a calculated manoeuvre. Jesse would more than likely be dealer. Leon chomping three or four bags of chips which Vince would steal from. It would be guy's night between bottles of beer and cards.

' _Not yet. Movie's just finishing.'_

His reply was quick, he was probably waiting for it, phone background lit as he turned it this way and that, waiting for one of the boys to make a move most probably.

' _Text me when you are.'_

It wasn't so much the text as the winky face emoji he had attached on the end that send colour to her cheeks and had her hiding her phone down the side of her body as the movie played on.

Her mother said nothing as she headed straight to bed after the movie finished, probably suspicious but most likely taking an educated guess it was something to do with Dom.

Letty stripped down and into her pyjamas, teeth brushed and for all purposes appearing ready to sleep, but Dom was flashing constantly inside her mind, burning bright for attention.

' _In bed.'_

Letty breathed out a long sigh as she relaxed against the pillows, shuffling down into comfort and awaiting the text reply.

It wasn't instantaneous, but Dom was probably playing a winning hand, or talking Vince down from shredding the playing cards in the food disposal again.

It didn't come after a few minutes of waiting either.

Letty double checked her message had sent.

It had, was even time stamped.

And it was showing Dom had read her message 2 minutes ago.

She knew he was busy, but he had asked her to text.

Maybe he was driving back?

Maybe he was outside?

Sensible Letty rolled her eyes at her imagination and rolled over. He'd only be a few more minutes.

Hopefully.

Just as Letty was slipping into sleep, her mobile started ringing.

She lunged for it in a daze. The bright backlight making her squint but the pop tune demanding she answer quickly.

" _Thought I might have missed you."_ Dom greeted and Letty felt a relief soar from her chest.

"No. I'm here. You finish your game?" she answered quietly, aware her mother was still downstairs but likely to come up at any time.

" _Vince fell asleep on the table."_ She could hear the humour in his voice, which was precisely why she checked that again.

"He did what?"

" _Fell asleep."_ he chuckled. _"Pain meds he's got wipe him out. Half a beer and he started dozing. Ended up falling asleep on his cards. Losing hand though. I checked."_ Dom's voice was filled with mirth. The background noise of the street filling in the gaps. He had probably just got home and out the car.

"Sort things out?"

" _Yeah. Even fixed things with Tessa for him."_ Letty found herself grinning at the pride in his voice.

"You in bed?" she repeated his earlier question.

" _Just left Vince's. Figured I'd see what my girl was doing. All alone in bed. You are alone, right?"_

The victory had certainly bubbled Dom's mood into playful. Hopefully the right kind of playful.

Letty heard the noise of his car's automatic locking opening and then the door close behind him, shutting out the background of the streets and the barking dog he had passed.

"Yeah."

" _Good. 'cos I need you to do something for me."_ Letty didn't need to agree. Dom knew she'd do anything he asked. _"Get naked under the covers."_

"My mother's downstairs." she warned, in case he was planning on coming over; thinking her parent was working.

" _And?"_ he breathed out darkly.

The Civic roared to life and Letty heard the change as he put her to speakerphone as he drove.

She heard the moment his foot stroked to gas, the handbrake released and the car joined the traffic.

Letty felt the noises radiate through her from her ears as if she was sitting in the car next to him.

" _Not hearing any moving, Let."_ Dom prompted, the engine calming and storming as he slowed for a junction.

Letty make sure the bedding covered all of her and she set the phone against her shoulder as she started methodically taking off each item of clothing, pulse rising with each exposed section of skin.

"Okay." she replied, surprised by how breathy her voice sounded.

A pleased rumble sounded down the line.

" _Good. Now we're gunna pretend those tiny hands of yours are mine."_

"Okay." she agreed quickly.

" _You're going to introduce me to your body. I want you to take my hands and explore all of your body."_

"What about you?" He was driving, he couldn't exactly satisfy himself.

" _What about me?"_ he questioned. _"Think I might take care of myself when I get in. But I know what I'll be thinking about."_ He led her right into his guidance. _"I'll be thinking about my hands on you. Where are my hands now, Letty?"_ Deep and suggestive, Letty was drawn further into his play, her hands sliding under the duvet, taking a breast each.

"On my chest." she answered coyly.

" _Let them feel the weight of your breasts, Let."_ As if commanded by his mere request, Letty cupped herself, instinctively squeezing them like Dom did. _"Your nipples hard, Let?"_ Her thumbs pushed against the raised flesh of her nipples and arched herself into doing it again and again, toying with herself just like Dom liked to do, just like he wanted her to. _"Letty?"_

"Yeah." she breathed, forgetting he was awaiting a response.

" _Think you might be getting a bit ahead of yourself there."_ he chuckled darkly. _"Think you can keep it up until I get home?"_

"Where are you?" she absently asked, already feeling the heat drip from the swirling in her stomach to between her legs. Her fingers nudged her nipples with each pass, a tweak here and there in turn with the sound of the engine rising and falling in his car.

" _Few junctions from passing the garage. I won't be long. You best keep your hands up top before you skip ahead of me."_

But Letty was feeling the pull of her sex, throbbing each time she pinched her nipples. Dom wasn't here to pick a favourite, so she was playing them both equally as desperate and equally as stirring. Her thighs rubbed against each other, crying out for friction, real friction on the nub between her legs.

"And if I don't?" she asked, breathing heavy, lust driving her mouth and the way she sounded like a harlot demanding more.

" _You really can't wait?"_ the question came filled with his jovial mood, but there was a flicker of pride too. A moan was his answer and he flashed right back to the date at the beach when she had sunk her fingers into herself on the passenger seat next to him. There was no doubt in his mind Letty had taken things into her own hands, so to speak. _"Minx."_ he accused. _"You know I only phoned to say goodnight and now y…"_ Dom trailed off and Letty paused her actions, waiting for whatever punchline he was building up to deliver. _"Fucking hell. Letty. I'll call you back."_

Letty went into panic mode, sitting up to stare at the dead phone dropping into her lap.

What the hell just happened?

* * *

Dom pulled up sharp, to the worst parking job he had ever made and was quick out of the vehicle, heading straight to the man on the garage forecourt.

"What the hell you doing here?" Dom greeted, letting all the sexual frustration of the drive flow pure and raw into aggression.

"Could ask you the same thing, it's past your bedtime surely." The cocky grin came from a snake on a leather jacket, the same ones that he driven him off the track at the races. Ones who had taken a workshop beat down from Vince and returned it in kind.

"You often lurk around other garages at night?" Dom continued, squaring off with the gang rider, suspicious this guy was truly alone.

"Just ones the boys rip apart." The snake smarted and Dom curled his fists, wishing he'd brought something heavier, sharper, pointier with him. "I was just going to leave this, but since you're here, we should talk." Calm as anything, the man coiled back to the van that had brought him there, yanking open the doors. He stretched in and Dom took a step back, ready for a weapon to come directed at him.

The length of a licence plate was lifted from the back, the other hand locked around something a lot heavier as it was dragged forward. Dom tensed, readied himself.

And then he saw the letters on the vanity plate and the music station the rider was lifting from the truck bed to the floor.

"Why?" Dom asked, anger dissipating.

"I didn't sanction this." The man motioned to the garage. He spoke like he was the leader of the gang. "Might not like you, but this," again he nodded at the workshop. "Wasn't my idea of payback. Not to the lengths it went to." He extended out the licence plate that once stood proud on the garage wall, spelling out TORETTO for all to see.

Dom took it.

It was battered and had a line where it had been tested with a bend and probably expected to snap, but Toretto's were stronger than that.

His dad would be happy to have this back.

And the new sound system wouldn't go amiss.

"I would have just stolen and skinned your ride after what your friend did." he continued, lifting the music station with both hands.

Dom fished his keys back out and unlocked the garage door for him. "But, the boys got a little upset. Seems your friend broke a cage with our Boa in."

"Fucking Vince."

"Snakes still missing, he's an eclipse boa; our mascot. There's a theory our burglar rehomed him. Boys just want an answer." That explained why they insisted upon ripping the place apart.

"Jesus Vince." Dom continued. "Let me make a call."

10 minutes later, Vince was pissed about being woken up but nowhere near as pissed as Dom was.

It was Dom that had to turn back to the tattooed gang man in his garage and tell him Vince had pussed out upon realising he'd set a snake lose and cut tail and ran.

"Yeah." The rider spoke, hands fixing in the wires to the speakers he had paired them with. "That was a more logical explanation."

"We don't want any more trouble, this ends here. How much for another snake?" Dom bartered. Vince was having it cut out of his paycheque.

"Not really a couch cushion pricetag." Several paycheques, Dom amended mentally. "Nah, we call it quits here. If that snake never turns up again, I might even be tempted to bring you another set of speakers." The gangman grinned a crooked smile. "I'll tell the boys it's been dealt with."

"No further backlash down the line?" Dom clarified.

"Long as your boy's telling the truth."

"He is." Dom had put Vince through a hell of a grilling, if he was lying he'd suddenly become very good at it.

"And I presume there's no lasting damage to your crew which would need bringing up to the police."

"Kinda hard to explain that without incriminating ourselves."

"Then I'll see you at the next race."

"Bring a normal car instead of the monstrosity." Dom insisted, but only earned a deep chuckle from the rider as he went back to the van and pulled out of the lot.

Dom locked up and returned to his car, finally looking at the three panic texts from Letty. He hit dial with an eyeroll.

" _What the hell happened?"_ Ratty and annoyed it was his Latino princessa throwing a tantrum with four words.

"Vince's favourite gang paid another visit to the garage tonight." Dom oversummarised.

" _You okay?"_ Burning anger to fevered concern, only Letty could manage the whiplash emotions without missing a beat.

"Yeah. Turns out Vince broke a cage for their pet snake in his rage fit. It's missing."

" _Explains why they trashed the place."_

"It ends here though."

" _So he was outside the garage at 11pm, why?"_ Letty continued. He could imagine her screwed up face as she thought it out.

"Bought us a new speaker system as a peace offering. Returned what he could."

" _Asshole."_

"It's all sorted, just like you wanted, you should be happy." he poked the bear.

" _Happy, yeah."_ she mocked. _"Like I'm supposed to be happy I'm halfway to a good time before you leave me with no explanation."_

"I'll make it up to you. Finish you off myself tomorrow if you like." With a purr, Dom started the car once more. He sensed a win before it happened. He heard her intake of breath as she thought through the idea.

" _Fine. Tomorrow."_

"Goodnight Letty. Sweet dreams."

* * *

"What are you doing?" Letty spun her eyes over her shoulder as Dom's heavy weight settled on her naked ass.

He'd brought her back after work, stripped her down with kisses and told her to get comfortable face down on the bed. She presumed it was some prelude to something kinky, but now, she was questioning his guttermind.

"Well, you made it rather clear I left you with a bit of tension last night." His hands settled on her back and walked with the weight of his body until they clasped her shoulders. "Figured we could fix that the conventional way first." He stroked her hair over from her back to spill on his pillowcase. "And if that doesn't work… I might have another way in mind."

"It won't work." Letty was quick to decide, but she wriggled her body and handed it over to him, willing to let him try.

His fingers took her wrists and positioned them down by her side, working in tandem as they rolled tight circles into her forearms.

"How about you let me try first?"

His swollen hand was just about coming down to his usual size, but Letty tensed when he applied any pressure, obviously preferring the lighter touch which suited his pain threshold just nicely.

"If that's what you wanna do." she sighed and flexed out her fingers as he moved higher onto her triceps.

"It is. I even came prepared."

To this, Letty opened back up her eyes and twisted to him again.

He nodded to the side table and Letty flipped her head over to look at the bottles lined up alongside a blindfold and a feather.

Letty tossed a raised eyebrow over her shoulder.

She shook off one of his hands and reached out to the bottles.

Dom moved her hair again and started on her shoulders, earning a deep sigh as he circled a knot near her neck.

"Which one do you want?" he asked smugly when she hadn't said anything but stunted moans for a short while.

Letty's hand flailed around on the table again and she grabbed the feather tossing it to the other side of the room, it sailed down only a few inches from him. He paused his actions.

"You know I'm ticklish."

"Not designed to tickle you, Let." He had designs of taking the feather over her nipples, watching the feeling ripple through her body.

"No." she reiterated and lifted her head back to him. "You can continue though."

"I can when you decide between them." he chuckled.

She propped up slightly and grabbed at a bottle again. Dom had spent half an hour with the lady at the beauty shop, she had argued gels, lotions and oils with merits and flaws, eventually offering for him to test them all out on her body. He had passed but still ended up with a mobile number in his bag as she totalled up one of each.

"Oil sounds slippery. And smells like lavender." It was set on the floor to join the feather and Dom made a mental note Letty did not like lavender. "This one is _bio-organic_." The word was stretched out with distaste. It ended up on the floor also. The gel was the last one standing and she passed it over her shoulder, pulling her hair back out of the way to let him get on with it.

"Alright, but, there's a price." He met her eyes and motioned back to the blindfold. She rolled her eyes.

"I've got my eyes closed anyway."

"Then it won't make any difference." he bartered and Letty pulled the blindfold over her eyes the elastic falling into the waves and curls of her hair. She resumed position as she was and Dom's hands returned quickly, though slick with warm lubrication.

He drove his thumbs into the knots in her neck, his large hands easily covering the span of her back and engulfing the column of her throat.

And yet she stayed perfectly still with his hands around her neck, relaxing further and further with each touch.

Dare he read trust from such a gesture? This was indeed a true test.

He moved onto her shoulders and a deep moan broke free, one that must have splintered down to her toes as he felt the motions of her legs stretching out again.

Dom followed the audio map of her breaths and moans as he covered the length of her naked back. He chased lines between each freckle and the two dips at the very base of her spine.

Fingers danced around each bone they felt curving around the flow of each rib.

She was completely pliable as he finished working his hands on her back, moving them through the gel that soaked into her skin, giving it a beautiful warm shimmer.

He shuffled back again and his hands went straight to the globes of her ass.

She squeaked at him, fingers groping for the blindfold.

His gentle chastisement had her leave it alone but she returned to her position stiff and hesitant. It lasted as long as it took him to slide a finger between her legs and stroke her cleft. Then she was sold to it. Rising her ass up into his hands as much as his weight on her legs could manage.

She had the perfect shape, the tuck at her waist flaring out to her womanly hips, the curve of her back lending to the roundness of her ass.

The way it felt in his hands, enough to squeeze, enough to spank.

He had to indulge, a soft strike to each cheek and another dip between her legs.

She moaned again and he repeated it, a rosy glow to her ass tempting him to go further, leave his plans and plunder her as she so clearly wanted.

He incorporated long strokes of her thighs into his massage of her ass.

Working in even longer reach as he perched between her gladly opened legs, he rolled from ass to soles of her feet with every stretch.

"Feeling relaxed, Letty?" he asked again, dipping fingers to her core and into the juices that were seeping out taunting him.

"mmmm." Was his reply.

"Think you can turn over?" his voice was all play, a soft laugh echoing as he helped her with her wobbly legs to flip 180, a knee raised either side of his seat.

And the tension came straight back, fingers toying with the blindfold again.

This way, Letty felt vulnerable. Naked and exposed, it tested her trust once more.

"Leave it on and I promise you'll be rewarded." he pleaded, wanting her to trust him, knowing how tense she felt about it just by how her body had changed from big pile of goo to tin man. "Nobody else is coming in." Mia was out with his father on the before-school shop, the door was locked in case they came back early. "It's just you and me." He warmed the gel with his rolling hands and turned them again to her body, starting at her feet, rubbing into the balls and arch, and watching the signals flood her brain with the command to relax.

Hesitantly, she let go of the blindfold, leaving it as it was and relaxing back into his bedding, head on his pillow. Hair spilled around her like she was a goddess made for him.

He was only too happy to worship her.

Her nipples were hard and calling to him, mountain tops on her beautiful canvas.

Later, he promised in thought. He would get there and spend just as much attention on those.

Hamstrings and thighs were systematically relaxed and his fingers, slick with gel, stroked straight over her pussy, smearing her juices in her curls and earning a shock sting of arousal in a single word.

"Fuck." she breathed heavily, raising her hips to him.

He pressed them down to the bedding and started rolling circles into her hipbones and extending his fingers over her stomach. "Dom, com'on, please." she begged, wiggling her hips to confirm he had missed them.

"I haven't finished yet."

"Please." she mewled, arching her back, hands clutching his bedding.

"You're gunna have to be patient." But in true tease, he sailed his hands apart, one down through her tight thatch of hair to spear inside her in a short burst, the other splaying wide on her stomach.

And then both released her.

More gel.

Letty held herself tight in each breath as she waited for contact again.

Hands returned under each breast and they pushed up over each mound, playing professional for all of three seconds before they were nipple-centric.

Letty groaned long and deep, her hips shuffled down with each roll so that they were now spread exposing her entirely to him, thigh atop each of his.

"You looking so fucking beautiful, Let." he praised.

"Please."

"What do you want?"

"Fuck me, please." Brass and uncensored, Letty became another wet dream to spin around his head at the least opportune time.

"That what you want, Let?" he continued, finger visitors returning to spike into her wet heat, placating her.

His other hand was in his back pocket to the condom.

He had been hard since undressing her, but unzipping and freeing himself from his jeans was peace more than he knew. He gave himself a stroke, just to take the edge off. Maybe a few strokes, his brain demanded. How could he not when she was laid out before him like this, grinding down on his fingers.

He ripped the foil with his teeth and sheathed himself one handed.

He parted from her, only to crawl his hands under her back and lift her to rest above his thighs, chest cradled to his shirt. The gel would probably leave a mark but he didn't care.

Letty's hands clutched to him, the blindfold still on, the trust strong as he lined himself up.

"You want me, Letty?"

Her response was eager nods as he guided her down and onto him.

She cried into his ear, fingers tightening on his shoulder, his arms banding around her back. "Letty, you good?"

Frantic nodding brushed against his head and he held her as the sensation of being filled radiated out.

Her legs locked around his back as she adjusted to him and she rolled her hips, clear signal to proceed.

He did.

But it wasn't a hard fucking.

Letty felt every inch of him in the darkness of the blindfold. It was a slow drag in and out.

His lips were hot and demanding, finding hers the second she approved the motion.

His tongue prodded the seam of her mouth and dove into her as she opened.

It was different.

Different to the man that fucked her hard doggy style.

Different to the guy that ate her out on the side of the road.

Different to the boyfriend that used to take racer sluts up against side alleys like it was a sprint to the finish.

The urgency wasn't gone, but it had ebbed into something strange.

Something building, swirling in her stomach.

Something twisting tight around her heart in a way that made her want to cry.

She tried to change pace, batter away the feelings with a fast charge to the crest but Dom was in control of her mouth and the way he rocked into her.

Slow.

Deep.

Long strokes she felt everywhere.

She tore her lips away and pulled off the blindfold.

She regretted it in the same instance.

Dom's eyes were burning into hers. Soft and hot, spearing direct down to her heart.

Her chest tightened, feeling like her heart was ripping her from the inside out.

"Love you, Letty." he vowed, driving up into her again.

Emotional overload hit her.

She dropped her head back, eyes on the ceiling wide and fucked up with bare passion.

What was he doing to her? Why was this capsizing her balance so royally?

Holy shit, why was there a hollow in her heart for not saying the words back to him?

Oh god.

"Oh god." Letty vocalised, Dom's hands tugging her back to him, her head tumbling to his shoulder, hair tickling down her back.

Each rise and fall seemed to be breaking her further.

Fucking hell, she was going to end up crying on him again.

'Get it together, Letty!' she chastised herself.

But his grunts were developing into deeper groans, groans that he never made for any other woman to grace his arms.

Things were sliding into place that Letty didn't know what to do with.

This wasn't fucking. This was making love.

Dom loved her.

Like _loved_ her, _loved_ her.

And, god damn it, she fucking loved him back just as bad.

Large calloused fingers pressed to her clit and her brain turned single focussed to chasing the orgasm.

He chased her lips and swallowed the supporting moans with a deep kiss.

"I love you." he repeatedly like a prayer against her lips.

Letty could not have blessed her orgasm any more than when it tore through her at that moment, it tuned out Dom and it blasted through her like an explosion. It shook her legs and curled her toes. She hung onto him as it fell, only to rise again, sharp and spiralling from head to core as he came inside her with a hard set of quick thrust and tight hands banding her to him.

His final groan was spinning around her head as he turned them on the bed, pulling her to rest laid atop him.

Letty stared wide eyed at the shirt she rested on.

He loved her.

And she not only got off on it, she fucking felt it too.

Since she met him, Letty swore she loved him. But it was always in a 'god I'll never have' kind of way. She only believed they would be 'in love' in her fantasies.

Reality was much more shocking.

Wait shirt?

Her fingers pressed the shirt and eyes dropped to the jeans she was tangled with. He'd only shoved them so far down as to get his cock free, otherwise she was laid naked on a fully clothed man.

She raked her eyes down them again, only to shove a slap at him.

"You didn't even take your shoes off." she chastised.

A long chuckle came back to her, chest bouncing her with each laugh.

* * *

20 minutes later, Dom stepped back in from his shower, grinning at Letty in his bed, naked under the covers and watching some stupid telenovela.

"Really?" he laughed, stealing the remote.

"Hey!" she protested, reaching up to steal it back. "José's twin has just come back and Marisol is about to confess her love to the wrong twin."

Dom pinned her with a gaze and Letty realised what she had said, how deep she had gotten involved in the drama. "It'll be funny?" she tried to save her feminist pride and the remote was passed back to her control with a smirk.

Letty split her attention between the Spanish melodrama and watching Dom get dressed.

Fully.

"You going out?" she questioned, brow furrowed as she noted none of his clothes were old work ones, but clean, ironed, going-to-the-races style.

"Yeah. Bedlam."

"Bedlam?" Bedlam was a club in the middle of town. One that always had a story, whether it was a fight had broken out or a superstar DJ was attending. It didn't have the best rep.

"Yeah, it's for Ella's birthday. Mentioned it before."

"I thought she was still deciding on where to go? And isn't her birthday in another two weeks."

"'s why we're going out tonight. She wants to dry-run before she makes a decision."

"Oh. I thought she was going with her girlfriends to test them."

"Jealous, Let?" he pinned her quickly and correctly.

"No. I'm just curious."

"Vince is convinced the way to properly apologise to Tessa is to make her jealous, so he's going. And someone's got to make sure he doesn't end up with a restraining order." he laughed, taking his favourite cologne off the shelf. The one he usually wore for the races, the one that smelled like pure masculinity and made Letty's head swim with lustful thoughts.

Soon, the bedroom smelled like all of Letty's fantasies, but they were morphed into jealousy now.

"Leon and Jesse not going?"

"Yeah." Dom agreed, lifting his mobile back from the charger. "Leon's already half drunk, and Jesse's convinced he can take Laura home with him tonight."

"Laura?"

"The chic that dropped by the garage, the one that came to the races and gave Hector all the insider info." He refreshed her memory. It seemed she must have hit it off with Ella somehow. And apparently Jesse too.

"Oh."

"You know I can't take you with me. As much as I would like to bump and grind with you all night." He crossed over to the bed and his cologne mixed with his body heat in a way that made her head light. "But someone has a young face and no fake ID." He grinned, pressing a kiss to her lips quick and way too short. "Not to mention a bedtime." He smirked.

"So stay with me. Let Vince make bad life choices." she bartered.

"There is nothing." He pressed a kiss again. "Absolutely nothing." Another kiss. "I want to do more than strip off and get in bed with you all night. But someone's got to be responsible for drunk Vince."

"Tessa?" she offered. It was only a phone call away.

"I'll text you all night." he offered.

"Suppose I should get dressed then." Letty offered, hearing how glum she sounded herself.

"You should definitely lose the covers." Dom supported, pulling the duvet off her. "But, we have got more than enough time to enjoy the view." His hands went to her hips, eyes to her breasts.


	50. Chapter 50

**Chapter Fifty: What matters most**

Letty woke late and lazy on Sunday morning. A smile lit her face, Dom had text her since she left his room the day before. Nonsense messages about nothing of importance, trivial matters, no world value, but they had come again and again until she told him she was too tired to stay up and longer.

Despite it being Sunday and Letty's working days flipped 180 during the holidays, she was still heading into the garage. Everything was back to working order and Mr T wanted some sort of family re-opening pep talk. To re-affirm the values that might have been overseen, potentially lost. Not to mention the CCTV was now fitted and Vince was pitching a fit about not being able to scratch his ass privately anymore.

Letty and Mia came side by side into a tense atmosphere they had not expected.

Ella was glaring daggers at the boys.

Dangerous daggers.

Ones that threatened to stab if they came any closer.

And then there was Jesse, stepping nervously side to side, itching to pass Ella to get to the organiser, from the state of him Letty was guessing he was after the oil he kept eyeing.

"Wow, talk about tension," Mia dropped all tact and dove straight into the bright headlights of drama. "What happened last night?"

"You are kidding, right?!" Ella snapped straight to her, before recalling herself and taking a breath. "Sorry." she apologised with another deep breath. "I figured you would know by now."

"Ummm, nothing worth this. Though I hear Vince wrecked his relationship with Tessa and then drown himself in vodka."

Letty rolled her eyes in solidarity. Dom had said as much last night. Vince had called Tessa, demanding this and that, ending up with her blocking his number, which led to chasing empty skirts only to turn his sorrows and failure to the bartender. Explained why Vince wasn't anywhere to be seen. Probably sobering up with a greasy burger next door, only having come in because Mr T asked.

"That, no kidding, was the _best_ part of that night." Ella hissed.

Letty stepped around her and grabbed the oil. Jesse looked like he was about to burst from tension warring with need. "Every single idiot that invited themselves last night has tested my patience to the max." Ella snapped around to Jesse with her sharp eyes, then back to Leon who quickly hid himself in work.

Surprisingly, it was Letty who was the voice of reason, passing Jesse the oil and letting him scarper away.

"You know what they're like, can't have been that bad." Letty justified, kicking out an old tool box to sit on. Sensing the long conversation, Mia hiked herself up onto the bonnet of the closest car, readjusting the skirt for dignity as she settled in.

Ella, exhausted and less caring, dropped herself onto the dirty floor and stretched her legs out long, fingers rubbing the bridge of her nose.

"All of them?" Mia asked, eyeing where Jesse had been stood. Jesse rarely got into trouble.

"No." Ella sighed. "Hilariously, the only one who behaved, was your man." A nod went to Letty.

Mia bolted out a short laugh.

"My brother?" she clarified, earning a nod. "My brother behaved when all of the rest of this lot failed?" Mia wriggled her hips into comfort. "Oh, this I have to hear, start at the beginning."

"Not much to say, he was polite to my girlfriends, told the skanks that came near he was in a committed relationship and not looking." Ella's tired eyes turned to Letty. "Congrats, by the way." Letty felt her pulse kick out again, a beam of pride swelled in her chest. "And then came Vince."

"What did Vince do?" Mia demanded, already starting a list to yell at him about.

"Let me tell you what Vince _didn't_ do." Ella began, temper rising with the memories as they fled out. "He _didn't_ puke on one out of five of my friends." Mia winced sympathetically. "He _didn't_ insult _all_ of them with a rant about women." Letty felt clarity bless her about the true extent of Dom's text stating Vince was digging a hole. It was gunna be a deep hole at this rate. "He _didn't_ try to sleep with three of my besties." No wonder he wasn't front and present today. "Oh, and he absolutely didn't retain any chance of ever getting back together with Tessa, you should have heard what he said to her over the phone."

"Drunk?" Mia asked, piecing the information together.

"He arrived there smashed out of his mind. I have to bribe the bouncer just to get him in!" Ella huffed. "Leon promised he'd keep an eye on how much he drank and force water on him. Did he balls?!" Ella aimed the words loudly down the garage. "Instead, he played chase the skirt with Shannon." The girls heard a tool dropping loudly, a bang and soft grumble of pain. "And when Shannon said no, he decided he would hit on every single one of my friends, by staring directly at their chests."

"Men." Mia scoffed.

"Jesse?" Letty asked. He was usually so reliable.

"Jesse." Ella repeated, taking a long slow breath to calm back down. "Leon told me Jesse liked Laura, and I really liked Laura at the races, she was super cool so I brought her along, and I spent half the night trying to do a good deed, talking Jesse up to her. And she was sold, totally game for some Jesse lovin'." Ella hands moved with every articulation. "So I encourage her to go over and talk to him, because he's not even making a move at all. And when she goes up to him, he says he wasn't even looking at her, he was looking at Shannon. So Laura comes back, upset that I said he liked her."

"Oh." Letty vocalised. That explained Jesse behaving like a kicked dog. Jesse's version of flirting was a long and steady shy approach that included denying its existence if confronted. Especially if confronted by the one girl he actually did like.

"Yeah, so I'm uninviting them all from my actual birthday party. Well, except Dom." Ella flicked her hair over her shoulder, moving on.

"Poor Jesse." Mia whispered, just loud enough for the girls to hear.

"Excuse me?" Ella asked, wide eyed.

"He's kinda super shy." Letty offered.

"Ummm, I've seen him at the races, he's not shy." Ella countered.

"Not with one nights that Leon directs to him. But with someone he _really_ likes… yeah, he is." Mia expanded.

"So he _does_ like Laura?" Ella clarified.

"A lot." Mia concluded. "Li-"

"Ladies." Mr T's voice greeted them, stepping into their pow-wow with a knowing grin. "I do hope we're having a good morning."

"Vince needs punishing for his crimes against women." Mia offered with a smile to her father.

"I think the hangover will be punishment enough." Her father's soft tones advised, a fatherly hand to her shoulder. "And if not, I'm sure you three are more than capable of restoring the balance." he chuckled. "Just don't damage him, I need him at work."

"He doesn't need _both_ kneecaps." Ella muttered under her breath, eyes on the wrench she'd been using.

"And if he didn't have a tongue, he could still work." Letty provided with a laugh.

"We c-"

"Don't." Mr T stopped his daughter's addition to the witch's cauldron of male hate. "I swear I should get a punching bag installed in here for all of you." he sighed. "Why can't I have employee's without anger management issues?" he joked. "Com'on, time for a quick catch up." He nodded out back and started heading that way, his hand patting on the cars the boys worked on in turn.

Sat out in the forecourt, away from the destruction, with burgers in hands and Sonja sipping on sweet tea, the gang gathered. Mr T addressed them like a king would address troops before an incoming battle. He rallied their spirits, forged their bonds and mended their wounds. He had them all laughing, ready to face whatever demons would come their way.

"Challenges will always be there." He was rounding off after the update about the CCTV, the repair progress and finishing the building work. "We will always have our fair share and it will always seem like it is a bigger mountain than we are capable of climbing, but all I am asking you to do, is keep on going."

"Keep on trucking." Vince grunted out his own interpretation of the message.

"Trucking." Mia repeated, rolling her eyes with humour. "Like anyone here has a problem with keeping their foot on the gas pedal." Another dramatic eye roll. "They'll always keep going until it kills them."

"Ride or die, Mia." Dom once again piped up, echoing words that had been spoken in the garage before.

"Ride or die." Letty echoed quietly, adding an elbow to her pseudo-sisters ribs where they sharing a chair.

"Ride or die!" Vince hollered, making Sonja jump with the suddenness.

"Yes, well." Mr Toretto called a peace over the new motto that was no doubt going to haunt him. "Enjoy our current disaster, and pray the next one takes it's sweet time arriving." he concluded.

Mia grabbed Letty the second everyone started to scatter back to work.

"You gunna help me paint?"

"Now?" Letty asked, eyes going to the new build, where the walls sat bared and ready.

"Yeah, com'on. Ella finishes actual work at 2 and says she'll help out then."

Letty looked down at Mia's pink summer dress pointedly. "Yes, well, I'm sure Dom's overalls will look better covered in blue paint anyway."

Letty grinned wide in her best friend's conspiracy and found herself agreeing to spending the afternoon with shades of blue and Mia's strict instructions.

An hour later, Ella and her long legs were stretching up to the height of the ceiling, Mia stood underneath passing up the paint can between gossip updates. Letty had tape on her arms from Mia's 'neat edges' and splashing of blue pain that had dried up her legs. But, the biggest pain was that she could see the boys doing _actual_ work on cars, and she was stuck with a paintbrush.

Ella had shoved her banana at her after the fourth complaint as such, insisting something about endorphins and sat her on the sealed paint can outside.

But that meant she could see Dom and Vince (strictly eyes only) working on the transporter van that was on its last miles.

She watched as Dom swept the back of his hand over his forehead, stretching up above his head as Vince offered another suggestion to shoot down.

Letty wanted to be there, she wanted to join the guys as they fought over right and possible, inventing a way around the latest 'fix' that didn't work.

But, she was trying to balance the realisation she made the night before.

She'd always loved Dom.

Being in love with him was staring down a future that was fuzzy at the edges.

And, as much as she wanted to dive into it, there was hesitance haunting her.

And she didn't know why.

Why shouldn't she able to confess the way she felt?

"Letty, don't just stare at it." Ella's voice jostled her. Letty met a meaningful eye jab at the untouched banana in her hands she had until recently been thinking into. "The endorphins need to be ingested to make you less grumpy. And we've got more walls to paint. So eat."

Letty peeled back the skin of the banana and ripped the top off in a big bite, making a point of eye contact with Ella as she chewed.

The smell of paint clung to her and she errantly scratched at the dry blobs on her bare legs.

The summer heat and sun were drying the colour as quickly as it was dragged across the walls. It was breathing life into the place though. The tones of blue greatly changed the white wash from before.

Mia went back into her enthused news about a new air-con company she read about that was planting trees for every unit bought. Mia was going full swing environmental protector for some reason, insisting upon plants on every window space.

Letty went to take another bite of banana, attention back to the van.

Instead, she found big eyes drilling into her across the courtyard, a smirk curving lips, focus pinpointed to the banana.

Not thinking clearly, it took Letty a few seconds to realise why Dom was giving her banana bedroom eyes.

Letty dropped her bottom jaw, she wasn't purposefully performing fellatio to the banana, it was just absent thoughts bouncing in her head.

Not that Dom's eye contact was helping. All the cheerleaders inside her mind, in the palace of Dom, had finished their slow song contemplation and were changing into something less comfortable and more befitting the sexy mood he was laying down.

A mobile rang and Dom broke their connection to lift his out of his pocket, it went to his ear the next second.

Letty took the bite of the banana whilst he was talking to the caller.

And then he was back, body turned her way, finger outstretched to her, beckoning and hanging up the phone with 'we're on our way'.

"Com'on painter, we got a job." Dom called.

Letty ditched the banana without a second thought, chasing Dom out through the garage. But he didn't head down to the recovery truck.

"Where we going?" she asked, following his feet onto the pavement and down the road.

"Jesse's got a dead car about half a block away." Dom began, a grin wide. "He got it fixed roadside to drive back, but it's died mid junction."

"What is it?"

"Ford."

"Electrics?"

"Probably, we'll need to get it back, and I don't fancy pushing anybody else's weight in that car." He threw a smile over his shoulder. "And I think someone needed a pick-me-up." he offered.

"Yeah."

"Just tell my sister she's a maniacal overlord when it comes to painting and you don't want to help."

"It's Mia." Letty kept up easily, admitting to herself her lips were twisted in a big smile now. "She'd never get it finished if she was by herself."

"Then that would be _her_ problem." Dom insisted, picking up the pace as the sound of horns beeping became more frequent and louder.

Jesse was stressing, turning a car over and over that just didn't want to start.

Angry drivers weren't offering a hand, just a grumble and a swear word selection to make sailors blush.

"I meant a tow truck!" Jesse cried upon seeing their arrival.

"Don't need it." Dom answered, hiking a thumb and swapping the drivers around.

Letty settled for the 2 man power that was replacing the 120 horses she _should_ have.

But the car rocked then started rolling.

She tried it with a running start but the engine wasn't playing with her, all she could do was turn the wheel to follow the junctions back to the garage.

Parked onto the lift, Letty stepped out of her break and back to reality, and that was blue paint.

Sweaty arms met her on her exit, wrapping around her.

"You coming over tonight?"

His embrace felt casual, simple, easy… yet it filled her with warmth.

"Yeah."

"Good." He smiled, pressing a kiss to the top of her head as he pulled her in for a second. "Try get some paint on the walls, huh?" he teased, pushing her out of his hold and back to the new building, where Ella and Mia could be heard discussing the perfect tanning secrets.

* * *

Letty's 'later' turned out to be closer to midnight than daylight, she crossed the streets in the darkness and headed straight for the house with the lonely bedroom light left on for her. "Little late for a social call, Letty." Mr Toretto's deep chords made her jump, flail and grab out at the wall. "Isn't it?" he continued, a smile twisted into the question surely. "I believe Mia will be asleep." The kitchen light flipped on and Letty was illuminated to the knowing fatherly gaze as Mr T cradled a cup of cocoa. "Although, somehow, I get the idea you're not here for my youngest child. Are you?"

Pinpointed in the startling gaze of the father figure she never had, Letty backpedalled.

"Sorry. I'll just…" but her intent to flee was met with a shrug.

"Since you've made the effort to sneak out of your own house at this hour, it would be awfully rude for me to turn you back to the dark streets and your own bed." Mr T opened the fridge and pulled out the milk, tipping a bit more into his drink. "I could ring your mother to collect you." he mused. "But, this could all just be a figment of my imagination. I do have very vivid dreams." His eyes turned to Letty with mirth sparkling. "So I'll be heading back to bed." He returned the milk to the fridge. "I'd appreciate if you would remind my son he's got the opening shift tomorrow. So it would be advisable for him to sleep at _some_ point." Mr T took a sip of his drink, confirmed the milk ratio was correct and then turned off the kitchen light. "Goodnight Letty." he spoke, heading up the stairs in the moonlight.

Letty thawed from the surprise. She wasn't quite sure if that was permission for her to be there, caught by her boyfriend's father, or if that was encouragement to go home. But, Letty didn't feel like it was the latter. She turned her eyes to the stairs, following the path to Dom's bedroom.

* * *

Letty woke in Dom's bed, hot and tight. She stretched out her limbs and felt the horny dream she'd awoken from was far from her imagination. Dom was pressed against her back, arm draped over her waist, fingers inside her panties. His groin was rocking a hard erection against the curve of her ass.

"Morning." His voice was like a gravel road straight to her sex drive.

Her reply was a pivot of her hips that gave him full access to slip his fingers inside her. "Gotta be quiet, Let." he hushed, rubbing his nose against her ear, kisses quickly following.

Her head nodded but the understanding of his words went straight back out of her head when he pumped his single digit into her. "Yeah?" he prompted, lips chasing her neck to shoulder, feeling the way she floated further away with each breath. "You been dreamy dirty dreams?" he withdrew the fingers for a trail to her clit. "You were so wet already." he purred the words like a prayer against her skin. She rolled her hips hard against his fingers, needing him back, inside her. "Thinking about what you wanted me to do?" he teased, two fingers parting her outer lips, diving back in, curling and finding what she needed to steal a sharp gasp.

Her digits had found their way backwards and between their bodies to shove boxers down and take hold of the erection she was rubbing against.

She broke his rhythm with her first stroke, faltered him with every pass of her thumb over his head until he took action, hiking her leg over his hips and sliding her underwear aside to guide his length through the wet glide of her slit.

"I love waking up with you." Dom vowed.

Letty felt the words dance inside her again, drowning her in emotion. It was just like he'd touched her heart electrifying her with the passion of his love.

She felt it from toes to lips, her body heating up in ways that had nothing to do with the lust swimming in her.

"There's a condom under the bed." he whispered, nudging her with a shoulder touch.

His fingers toyed with her until she reached the foil packet with blind patting and shoved it back against him.

Letty managed three deep, controlling breaths before she was losing herself in a gasp again, his covered tip sliding against her sex.

With a moan bit back between her lips, he smoothly guided himself inside her.

Fuck.

Letty felt filled with him, physically and emotionally.

Was this what it would be like to love someone so deeply they invaded your mind as easily as they touched your body? Would it always feel like lightning caressing the sea?

She felt swallowed with her emotions to Dom, engulfed by the idea she could love someone so much.

She turned her face into the pillow, sealing away the words that might tumble out and hiding the features that would give her away. She easily pushed back against his groin though, meeting his glide with enthusiasm.

It wasn't a half bad way to wake up.

It was damn good.

Dom's arm banded around her.

She felt him encase her in his wishes, the way she felt so safe, strong and supported.

Loved.

She had him, all hers, nobody else's.

He loved her.

His fingers strummed her clit as they rose together, their breath loud in the quiet of the early morning.

She felt him guide her, turning to steal her moans with a kiss as she climaxed.

Still half dressed, barely awake, she toyed with the idea of saying the words back, the words he wanted to hear.

That god damn it, she loved him too.

"Fuck, Letty." Dom groaned against her lips as he met her. "Love you." he whispered, words brushing over her cheeks.

* * *

"What about Selene?" Mia countered, her voice carrying as Letty had obviously stepped into something. "She lasted what? A week?" It was the dreaded meal where Alex formally met the Toretto family, and Letty had ran late. Late as in she had missed most of the dinner and was expecting to walk into a bloodbath.

"A month." Dom corrected.

Letty followed the arguing voices to the dining room table where Dom and Mia faced off in a competition. Alex was looking nervous as hell, picking at peas with a fork. Mr T was smugly sat, watching his children show up his family's manners once more.

"Oh Letty!" Mia turned to her quickly. "Back me up here!" she demanded. "Dom has never lasted more than a month with the same girl, has he?"

"Ummmm." Letty glanced at Dom.

"Even his very very first girlfriend lasted only three weeks." Mia continued her assault. "So he has no right what so ever to judge my relationship, which has already, lapped him about 3 times over."

"Ummmmmmmm." Letty didn't know what to say. It wasn't cool to admit she had stalked all of Dom's relationships since she met him, but, truth was, she had, and Mia was right.

"So, what?" Dom challenged. "If I've had a relationship over a month then I get the right to judge?"

"Partly." Mia conceded.

Dom turned pointedly to Letty.

"Good news _darling_ , we're celebrating our tiny anniversaries now." he mocked with a grin, enjoying the way Letty's eyes went wide and she froze her feet where she stood.

"Oh Letty does not count!" Mia protested.

"Why not?"

"Because she is always my best friend before she is ever your girlfriend and since she's backing me up here, you can't use her as a girlfriend witness."

"What?" Dom laughed. "This is about your fling with grand theft auto here." He jabbed a thumb out to Alex. The thumb that belonged to the still slightly swollen hand. The ones that matched the litany of fading bruises he still sported. Alex shrank even further in his chair.

"Letty, back me up." Mia demanded.

"I, uhhh. I'm sorry I'm late. Dom said something about going to a movie…" she admitted softly.

"Seriously?!" Mia huffed. "Wait, no, this works. Go see a movie and leave us to dessert in peace!" Mia commanded, arms flung across her chest.

"I'm done anyway." Dom grinned, standing tall and taking pleasure in how Alex retreated physically from him. It would do him good to be frightened of him. Maybe he ought to show him how he got the swollen fist. "Unless you ne-"

"Dominic, let's not keep Letty waiting." Mr T suggested, knowing full well what crossed his son's mind from the sparkle in his eye.

"Fine. I'll be back later. And he'll be gone by nine." Dom commanded, grabbing his jacket from the back of the chair and steering Letty out of the dining room while he hunted for keys in his pockets. "Everything alright?" he asked quietly, eyes filled with concern when her footsteps followed slowly and silently.

"My ummm, my gran had a stroke. She's in the hospital."

"Shit, sorry Let. We can re-arrange." he offered.

"It's okay, my mums with her. I just need the distraction, if that's okay." She looked up at him with her big eyes, the ones that pulled him in whole heartedly.

He lifted her chin, pressing a kiss to her lips.

"Whatever you need." he swore.

She accepted the embrace easily, meeting his kiss with one sole purpose, distraction. And Dom was the most beautiful form of it. He responded as she needed, his body covering hers with his protective circle, stealing all her worries and troubles with each second of the kiss.

Someone cleared their throat in the room and the couple stepped apart, eyes open.

Mr Toretto stood against the doorway, the same all-knowing smug expression Dom sometimes wore.

He kept eye contact as he grabbed the photo album from the side and returned to the kitchen.

Letty felt her face flush red.

Caught by Mr T.

Twice now.

"Com'on." Dom chuckled. "Time to split." He went to the old hoodie on the back of a chair, fingers taking the keys out of the pocket.

"So Alex, what kind of car do you want to drive?" Mr T could be heard from the kitchen.

Letty winced in sympathy; this wasn't going to be easy.

"Oh, ummm, I uhh, I'm not that into cars really." Alex responded shyly.

Thank god Dom was too focussed on his keys to hear the response.

Mr T, however, put all the disappointment possible into the single syllable he spoke.

"Oh."

That was the photo album of Toretto cars put to bed quickly.

Mia's uproar of defence burst free as Dom stole Letty's hand and guided her out the door.

"We going for a movie?" Letty asked.

"Figured we might change plans. You wanna go Cresseda Park?"

"The one with the ice-cream hut?"

"That all you think about?" he nudged an elbow to her in tease but paused before the car. "Wanna race there?"

Dom saw the answer light up her face in the way she dove in her rucksack for her keys.


	51. Chapter 51

**Chapter Fifty One: Growing up**

Every club in the area would open its door to a beauty like Ella on her birthday, but ideas had been and gone, and Ella had made the brave decision to host a house party, gifting her full control over music, food and more importantly; drinks.

Of which she was indulging in when the girls turned up.

Another benefit of hosting at her house; no bouncers to check for underage girls dressed in dresses designed to attract the wrong kind of attention.

Mia had pulled another winning combination of hair and make-up to match the colours and fabrics they wore with explosive style.

"Happy birthday to me!" Ella announced loudly from the crowded kitchen, where the guests claimed their favourite beverage with the sole intention of getting drunk with the birthday girl.

There were cars lined up around the block, most to be abandoned for the night in trade for a taxi home or crashing on Ella's floor.

Letty gripped Mia's hand in solidarity.

Letty was helping open up the garage tomorrow and had already volunteered to be the designated driver to get Mia back home. Her baby was parked around the block and just waiting for celebrations to wind down and Mia to crave Alex enough to go home to his nightly phone call.

"Oh, is that Andrea?" Mia released the grip she had on Letty and with an elaborate wave, Mia was racing to meet an old friend.

Letty turned her focus to her best party hobby; finding Dom.

He'd needed far less time to get ready and been picked up by Vince, with the hopes Dom would assist him in creating a suitable apology to Tessa on the drive over.

Dom was nothing short of in his element, glowing in the presence of others, vibrating with the pulse of the music. Letty couldn't resist the urge to lay her eyes on him, make a claim, to show all the onlookers he was _hers_.

But she knew the rules; nothing public.

It didn't stop her from being drawn in his direction, to the bimbo's that wanted to hear about his next race, his last race and every other story he would entertain them with. Hanging on his every word as if it would get them closer to his heart.

Idiots.

Letty stalked the last steps with measure, landing by his side, as she should be.

"-such speed though?"

"You busy?" Letty interrupted, no care for their previous conversation.

Dom's eyes met hers and it was like he could read straight to her soul. He threw her his sloppy smirk that said he knew she wanted him.

How could he not in the little dress she wore? It was scandalous and elegant at the same time. A lady with a wild side would wear this with bold pride. Letty tried to emulate that in her posture as she leaned into him.

"Though you were keeping my little sister company?" he asked, tease heavy, like the rest of the girls had faded away and it was just the two of them again.

"She's fine." Letty narrowed the distance that separated them, heels carefully stepping closer. She couldn't resist a touch, her hand trailing across his jeans to find the fingers that hung at his sides. Just hand to hand, just contact enough to confirm they were there together. Even if it was in a stolen moment, out of anyone's sight. Her fingers nudged his wrist only to find it withdrawn at speed, the space between them casually extended.

"Make sure she's got a ride home, yeah?"

Dom physically turned from her, ending the conversation and launching into an explanation of how he'd won his last race.

Dismissed, Letty felt her anger bubble up.

But she walked away with it, back to find Mia, or until Dom was alone.

* * *

That moment came an hour later, as he was heading upstairs to the bathroom. Letty chased him up the stairs and pushed him hard off course and into a bedroom.

"The hell, Le-"

"You planning on just ignoring me every time we go out then?" she challenged.

"We talked about this. You're underage Letty, I can't be see-"

"No, I get that. But common decency, you know. I'm not just some loser kid hanging around you. You can fucking talk to me."

"I do."

"You've shoved me off to go back to Mia everytime I've tried to have a conversation with you."

"What do you want me to do? I'm not going to ignore y-"

"Ignore me? Why, because you've never done that before."

"What?"

"You're pretty adapt at blanking me actually. Can go for days."

"Is this about the other day? I told you, we were swamped at work. I genuinely didn't have time to walk you through getting off on text."

"I know, you told me."

"Letty." His hands took her face. "I love you." He pressed a kiss to her forehead, avoiding the lipstick his sister was no doubt responsible for. "And I'm taking you home to my bed tonight and we'll discuss it then. But trust me, you are the _only_ one I'm thinking about at this party."

"I know… it's just, why can't you even talk to me."

"Because it won't stop at talking, and I'll end up in a prison cell with some cop trying to stick me as a paedophile."

Letty couldn't help but laugh. "So you gunna be good and keep temptation at bay?"

"Fine." She rolled her eyes. "I suppose I can do that. But you still owe me for not texting when I went to my aunts."

"Woah woah woah." He took her by the arm as she attempted to leave. "Oh we're talking about this now." He had a smile on his face. "Two way street missy, it's not like you were blowing up my phone to sort things out either."

"I thou-"

"Oh, woops." The drunken apology came to the door itself rather than the couple it interrupted, a highly intoxicated blonde hung on the doorknob for balance, looking a bit green. "Bathroom?" she asked and both sets of fingers pointed her next door.

She left with a lurch, door wide open and passers by staring in.

"Later Letty." Dom vowed, hand sliding across her waist as he stepped out.

* * *

Jesse and Leon were in the heat of an argument again. Their creative minds battling to create the best fantasy car, trading out parts and designs for the best handling, speed and look.

They'd amassed quite a crowd by the time Letty and Mia joined the room.

They settled themselves in with a glass of coca cola which each would deny the smell of coconut, from the added Malibu, existed.

It wasn't long before they were adding voices to the mass, insisting each choice could be bettered, fighting defence for their suggestions when aggro came back.

"Jesse's right, you'd be sacrificing any ability to maintain speed on corners if you chose that engine."

The voice from the heavenly angel that was Laura stopped Jesse in his tracks.

Jesse paused and that brought the whole group to a silence. "But… if that's why you want…" she trailed off, noting all eyes on her, a blush rising slowly.

Mia was all too happy to be the wingman nobody asked for.

"You're Laura, right? Jesse never shuts up about you, and you are just as pretty as he said." The compliments rushed out at speed as Mia took her legs in strides over the other bodies in the area and to embrace Laura in a tight hug. "Oh my gosh, have you seen what Jesse designed the other day?" Laura didn't have a chance to answer as Mia was dragging her across to Jesse by the hand. "Jesse you _have_ to show Laura what you drew up the other day." Mia instructed, no option presented but the one Mia insisted upon. "It is absolutely amazing, but I dunno, I just think it's missing something, and you seem to be on the same Jesse wavelength, so you absolutely must take a look. Pleeeeeeeease." Mia was an expert manipulator, she pulled out her big puppy dog eyes and Laura was agreeing to follow a suddenly sweaty Jesse through his phone's photo album. Letty rolled her eyes as Mia played matchmaker so obviously. Leon slung an arm over the closest lady and drew her near, no doubt asking her opinion about his ideas, sieving for compliments.

"She always that obvious?" a voice sat down besides Letty and she turned to it.

Adam, one of Jesse's school friends he kept in touch with. He was more of a motorbike guy than cars, and he worked in finance. More brains than brawn.

"Wouldn't be Mia if she wasn't." Letty agreed, watching as Mia pretended to be unable to see something, an obvious excuse to bring their bodies closer.

"You guys not finished the expansion yet?"

"Still got some last touches, and Mia approval."

"Could be another year then?" he joked and Letty found herself smiling.

Adam was easy this way, softer than the usual guys that ran into her life. "You think I'm getting my drinking buddy back at any point or should I find someone else?" he asked, nod towards Jesse.

"If Mia gets her way, your friend's gone all night."

"Damn." he chuckled. "Dom sort out that hire you needed?"

"Not yet."

"You mind passing on I got a friend in Cali who's looking for something? Great mechanic, but it'd only be temporary."

"Dom should be somewhere around." Letty spun on her seat, twisting at angle to see through the doorway. She couldn't see said man. "But yeah, I'll pass it along."

"Oh, wait, I can't find my…" Mia's voice cut through the music again, stepping away from the newly paired couple. "I'll be right back, don't move." And then Mia was stepping back to Letty, hiking an arm under hers. "Oh, hey Adam, Jesse's booked all night."

"You have no intention of returning to them do you?" Adam guessed.

"Not at all, but it ensures they'll keep talking to each other for the next 10 minutes at least." Mia grinned at him. "Com'on, we gotta split for a bit." Mia guided Letty through the patio doors and into the garden. "Why was Dom glaring at you anyway?" Mia asked as they found the footpath back to the front door.

"When?"

"Just now. Like literally, staring like a stalker."

"Where was he?"

"Near the speaker, didn't you see him?"

"No." Letty spun her head back but the line of sight was gone. "Was he mad?"

"No, more caveman, mine, grrr." Mia offered with a laugh. "Like Adam would make a move on you?" Mia peeled her head back for a laugh.

"Why not?" the demand came from a place of insecurities with a bite of backlash.

"Because you don't have a penis." Mia explained.

"Ummm, what?"

"He's gay."

"Since when?"

"Since college, that's why they're such good friends. As soon as Jesse got his own place, he made Adam move in with him, his dad was super religious, kept saying he'd grow out of it. Used to beat him for it." Mia gave backstory like she lived it.

"How do you know this?"

"Adam's boyfriend used to come to the races, he got chatty after a few drinks."

"SHOTS!" Ella's voice called out to them through the open window, fingers pointed their way as she poured one handed into plastic shot glasses. "Birthday shots! You have to join in or it's bad luck and my birthday wish won't come true." Ella was leant halfway out the window as she continued to call out to them.

"Oh my god, don't tell Dom." Mia whispered in conspiracy, dragging her best friends hand back into the house and direct to the kitchen.

Ella was surrounded by people, as she liked best, somehow managing to be dancing on the kitchen counter by the time the girls made their way through the audience. Ella had her long legs on their best display yet, cheeky shorts winked out the perfectly rounded globes of her ass as she swung her hips low and long in time to a deep beat. Male attention was singularly focusses as she flipped her hair over her shoulder and raised her arms high, music swallowing her body whole.

"Shots!" Ella whisper shouted, both fingers jabbed at the girls. "This is going to be the best year, yet!" an echo of cheers resounded from her whoop of joy in the words. "I'm going to get every, damn, thing, I want." Ella grinned wide at Letty and made her way towards to crowd below her, perfectly happy to sail into the open arms of her admirers to float to the floor. "So, you need to drink to me." Ella finished, plucking two shot glasses from the tray.

"What is it?" Letty asked, inspecting the liquid and its petrol-esque shimmer.

"Does it matter?" Mia countered, swinging the shot back in time with Ella. "Oh, god, what is it?" Mia asked after coughing.

"It's the dirty birthday pint's babies." Ella explained like Mia was an alien. "And it's such bad luck if you don't have some." She extended a fresh one to Letty.

"I'm planning to drive back." she countered.

"And now you're getting a taxi or a ride." Ella offered instead, wiggling the shot.

"You ate three burgers before we came here, you'll be fine." Mia insisted.

"One itsy, bitsy, teeny, tiny shot. Never hurt nobody. And if you don't… I might walk under a ladder and a piano falls on my head, and you'll be solely responsible because you di-" Letty snatched the tiny cup and tipped it between her open lips. "Yay, have another!" Ella cheered, turning to grab some more shots.

"How many have you had?" Mia asked when Ella swayed on her heels.

"The rule is one for each year of life." Ella proudly answered. "And I'm not even in my twenties yet!" she laughed. "More sh-" Ella paused, eyes on the door and then she was flying out of the gathering screaming the name of the latest girl who had stepped in. Claiming it had been 'forever' since she last saw her, and demanding an instant catch up.

Letty and Mia took that opportunity to exit the drink station and filter through back to the living room.

Except, they got distracted by the garden that was now filled with boys in a tipsy version of 5 a-side soccer and Pookie was barking loudly from his position tied in the garden, wanting to join in.

"Oh, that's Pookie?" Mia cooed, re-routing both of them towards the dog that was snapping drool as it barked. No fear, Mia went straight to pet the mutt. 5 seconds later, it was rolling over for a belly scratch. All bark, no bite.

Letty rolled her eyes.

"Doesn't she want to be back inside? It's kinda loud for her." Letty suggested, hearing every word of the musicians grandiose financial gratuity to bitches, and that was without a dog's hearing range.

"Oh, Ella must have forgotten, com'on Pookie-bear, we'll settle you back in your room." Mia had no concern unhooking the dog from the long lead and post, leading it through the patio doors and the small room out back. She had no qualms about making Letty wait against the doorframe as she proceeded with a long dog-baby talk and fuss.

"Oh, you absolute angels." Ella's arms came from behind Letty and snared her easily. "I told you Pookie loves you guys!" emotional and tipsy, Ella was adorably hands-on. Letty wasn't the biggest fan, but… Ella was pretty cool, as far as other females went.

"We just figured it was quieter here."

"Oh my god, yes, of course it is. Well, unless Laura moans like a whore." Ella barked out a laugh.

"Why, oh my god, is she with Jesse?"

"With Jesse?" Ella repeated with an unlady like snort. "She was climbing all over him."

"Seriously?" Letty was dragged out by her hand, starting to get annoyed with their 'stay together' pact.

* * *

Midnight and Letty and Mia were in a deep whispered debate about the theatre play before them.

Mia was under an alcohol blanket creeping in tiredness and stubborn need to stay awake. Letty had stopped drinking before Mia, passing the drinks that kept coming from Ella to anyone else that was walking past.

They were currently on one of the sofa's watching out the windows as Vince and Tessa were arguing. It was definitely arguing, there was no denying that.

But without the volume, the girls were designing their own plot.

"See, she did it again, she's saying it's over." Mia repeated, nudging Letty as Tessa once again swung her arms wide.

"Or, she's asking how many of the other girls here she needs to beat up?" Letty offered, picking up on the jabbed finger that kept shooting back into the party.

"He's gunna lose his temper soon." Mia guessed.

"Not with Tessa." Letty thought aloud, watching as once again he stroked a hand down his face and then purposefully crossed his arms on his chest, tightly.

"She's pushing him." Mia tilted her head. "Or… he's just figured out he likes her."

"He's not an easy man to read."

"Or to argue with. She's back to the same point as before."

They watched as Tessa stomped her foot and screamed out another round.

"Oh, she's leaving." Mia's eyes went wide and she sat up as Tessa stuck another cowboy heel in the dirt and spun on it, heading out and away.

"He's not happy." Letty added, both sets of eyes on the way he lunged for her, ensnaring her wrist.

"She didn't like that." Mia agreed, noting how Tessa snatched back her arm, adding a few hard shoves to Vince.

"It's over." Letty concluded. "We should stop watching."

"Yeah." The pseudo-sister agreed, but neither eyes turned away from the relationship sinking.

"It's not polite…" Letty continued, eyes glued to the scene, Tessa finally stopping, a heavy sigh dropping out of her. Some calmer words left her, a shrug and small hand movements paired with them.

"Uh-oh, that's the ultimatum." Mia narrated. "Vince does not respond well to ultimatums…"

"There's no way thi-" the girls stopped short. Vince had grabbed Tessa once more, but this time she was pulled in for a kiss.

"She is gunna kick the fuck off, what the hell doe-" Mia collapsed her sentence. "I stand corrected. She likes it." Tessa wasn't only kissing Vince back, but she had her hands grabbing tighter for more.

"She really likes him." Letty agreed, watching as Vince hooked the leg in the denim cut off shorts up to his thigh before lifting her entirely, hands on her ass, lips sealed to hers.

"Alex said he'd miss me tonight." Mia sombrely raised in her tipsy state. "He calls me every night before bed you know. He said he wouldn't be able to sleep tonight without it."

"You could call him." Letty suggested, a wave of romance curling in her. "He'd probably appreciate it."

"It's too loud." Mia glared at the stereo system.

"Borrow Ella's room?" The idea could be seen blooming on Mia's features.

"Yeah. I will." But Mia stumbled to her feet with a wobble and a desperate grip to the back of the soda. "Oh Letty, I don't think I'm entirely sober."

"I told you you'd want another burger."

"Oh god, now I _do_ want another burger. Can we call in for food when we go home? I'm starving."

"Com'on." Letty supported her best friend with a sympathetic smile towards the back bedroom that was specifically off limits to guests. Letty sat her on the bed.

"I thought Pookie was in here?" Mia's mind had chosen that point to recall the pup, or lack there of.

"Ella probably moved her somewhere else. Just call Alex."

Letty found herself smiling as Mia lit up at his voice.

Guess she better find Ella and just let her know Mia was there, probably find the dog too.

And, then she'd find Dom.

There was a wish inside her, hoping he would at least one day be there for her, fire and passion in the middle of a garden screaming their heads off, hopelessly addicted to each other. No care for who saw.

"-I know, but she's so young." Letty picked out Ella's voice above the music and turned hunting for it between people. "And it's so sad, you can't even hold her, or kiss her where anyone could see. Would it be such a terrible crime to be able to kiss your girl? Or such a shame for you to want that? I don't think anybody could judge you for wanting what you want. Deep down, as long as that's what you want." Letty got the sinking feeling this conversation was about her, half of her felt Ella was supporting her, the other half had more serious suspicions. Letty fought across the bodies in her way, drinks knocked and spilling down her legs. "I know what you want, I know what you need. And, I don't think you should apologise for taking what you want. What we _both_ want, really."

Dread was filling her, but nothing could prepare Letty for what she saw. She squeezed through the last barrier of the partiers and Ella was pressed up against Dom, lips crashed to his.

One hand fisting a beer, the other against her top.

Anger.

White hot, fuck everybody, anger blasted through her like an electric shock.

Tear them down, burn their happiness, ruin the world to get her way.

But another beer went down her front in the jostling of the crowd and she recoiled instantly from the cold liquid.

Dom eyes broke from Ella and found her, the guilt rising fast in his deep pools of drunken colour.

"Just let him go, Letty. He needs a woman." Ella tried to barter, her grip still strong on Dom's leather jacket.

But the beer was soaked through to her skin and the smell was crawling into the cloud of anger.

Dom wouldn't do this.

Dom wouldn't kiss her.

Dom would never…

"Letty, wait, let me explain…"

Why would he need to explain if he was innocent?

If he wanted her to wait, fuck him, she was doing the damn opposite.

Letty dove through the gap in the newly formed audience and straight out the door.

Fucking asshole.

The warmth in her chest wasn't a broken heart, not unless there was a lava overflow from the fiery rage first. It demanded she fight hard and fast, even the score. Hurt him.

He wanted her to stay, she could hear him calling her name, pleas to wait for him.

Fuck that.

Letty grabbed the keys from her purse and went straight to the ride he gifted her.

She hated how much she loved it, but it was a means to a suitable end in her eyes.

She yanked hard on the car door and threw herself to earn a few bruises into the seat.

The keys stabbed into the slot like it was a knife her heart and she hit the road with a heavy gas foot, one that demanded action, pain and an even tally.

What would hurt Dom?

His car.

Direction came to her mind and she followed her compass heading to the Toretto house. She was going to bash in his windows, slash his tyres, pour sand in his oil and salt in his petrol. There would be no saving his car, just like her heart.

How dare he kiss Ella?

And her stupid long legs.

Would she forever be reliving that moment of Ella wrapped around him?

Ella pulling him in?

Ella sinking her lips to his?

Ella crushing her body against his?

Ella did this…

Letty felt the clouds of rage lift for a second.

Ella did this.

Ella was the one to pull him in, to kiss him, to push herself against him.

Dom wasn't pulling her closer.

Perhaps he was pushing her away?

Dom didn't start this.

Dom didn't even have his eyes closed.

He didn't love Ella at all.

This wasn't Dom's fault.

She wasn't wrong to trust him.

To love him.

This was all Ella.

Letty heard the steering wheel protest her grip before she realised how tight it was.

And she was still driving to the Toretto's.

Her anger would be much better placed at Ella's.

On the other side of this hill there was a roundabout that was going to be taken with a handbrake turn and she was heading right back.

Fuck Ella and her long legs.

Letty slammed her foot on the brake, an object running into her path from the pavement.

A child?

At this hour?!

Letty felt the steering wobble, the tyres protest before clipping the curb and suddenly Letty felt the gravity in the car turn, metal scraping noisily, the seatbelt pulling tight against her.

Her head took a blow and Letty peeled open her eyes in the quiet to find herself upside down on the world, the car on its roof.

Where was the child?

The car was silent, stalling itself in the motions and she heard the grass move under the weight of a visitor.

Letty reached for her seatbelt release but the device was jammed.

And there was something warm running down her face, odds on, it was blood.

There was something creaking, rubbing and grating against the metal.

A nose came into the hole where her driver's window should be. A big black nose.

Followed by the brown fur of a Rottweiler.

A tongue lopped out with a grin.

A tongue that Letty was all too familiar with.

"Are you kidding me?" Letty groaned to herself, the blood now dripping onto the roof of the car. It was gunna be a pain in the ass to get out.

And Dom wouldn't let her hear the end of it.

Whatever was groaning and creaking in the car was getting louder.

Letty scrambled to the seatbelt again, trying to slip it, or release it. Figure out how much damage was done to her baby. How much damage was done to herself.

The groaning ceased, only to be replaced by a woody crack the resounded in the car.

Letty felt her stomach drop and the car that was stuck on a tree on the hill dropped down again, rolling down the banking three times over.


	52. Chapter 52

Bless you all for reading this far. This is, and will forever be, the last chapter.

A few reviews have asked for this to be even longer and for this to continue. And yes, I could happily spend the next few years writing this story, I could add chapter after chapter, but, I wanted to make this story to cover what I felt was a bit of a plot gap in the fast and furious saga; they never covered how Dom (who is so family oriented and open) ends up in love with Letty (who is aggressive, closed off and emotionally stubborn). And I feel like i've done what I wanted to do with this now.

Yes, I could continue. But... I don't feel like it would be towards anything, it would just be writing for no purpose and I want to leave it here where I feel like I can tie things up nicely.

All good things must end.

For new good things to start.

And yes, I would love to consider another Fast and Furious story. I kinda have an idea brewing already, but, we'll see where it goes.

Another reviewer asked about why Letty and Dom weren't together in public despite having dates. Their dates have been very private to far and if you recall, Letty IS underaged. In the racing scene, when money comes onto the line, it's not unlikely someone will be willing to cause a lot of trouble for him. To make that easier; he doesn't publicise it at group events.

Lastly, I want to thank you for reading through this. You've covered more than 200,000 words of plot and stayed through 52 chapters. Hats off to you. You've reviewed over 400 times and you have made my day with each one. So I want to thank you.

Thank you :)

* * *

 **Chapter Fifty Two: Finish Line.**

Letty peered through half open eyes to a dim room, a beeping noise rhythmic waking her. She turned and felt the painful pull across her back. It jarred her to being wide awake, making a grab for her lower back. Her motion was halted as she saw the cannula on the back of her left hand. She followed the tube from hand to a stand, where IV fluids hung.

She was in hospital?

Letty roamed her eyes over her body.

The itch in her right hand suddenly made sense, it was covered in a pot. From elbow to palm, a white cast hugged her tight.

There was a lipstick kiss printed to the inner wrist, pen scrawled with Mia's handwriting underneath wishing her to get well soon.

Panic flashed briefly through her mind.

How much more was broken?

Letty yanked the thin hospital covers off her body. Two legs stuck out from a gown, both seemed well coloured and whole.

She wished her toes to move and released a heavy breath of relief when both sets complied easily.

She was testing her legs to swing out of the bed when the door opened and caught her attention, deer in the headlights style.

"You're awake." The nurse whispered and Letty quickly pinpointed why; her mother was in the chair besides her bed, covered with another blanket and sleeping. "Your IV needs changing is all." she approached quickly, silencing the repeating beep.

"Can you take it out?" Letty asked, throat hoarser than expected, words barely making volume.

"You've got your pain meds coming in via it too." she explained softly, "You might want to keep it in."

"No. Can you… please?" Letty nodded at the left hand that was attached to the tubes.

"I can unhook you for a bit, but this is only coming out on discharge." She tapped the cannula softly.

"What time is it?" Then Letty's need for answers became forefront. "What happened? Is it broken?" she nodded to her arm.

"It's 5:45am, you were brought in at 1am after a car accident. Do you remember?"

"I uhhh… yeah." She remembered the car flipping, the dog on the road, the way she'd pulled herself out the hole where the windscreen should have been.

"Your right arm is quite badly fractured, you're bruised but the airbag prevented a lot more serious damage."

"Is my mum mad?" Letty dared to ask.

"Concerned." she corrected. "She's not left your side, just dropped off to sleep. You want me to wake her?"

"No." Letty was quick to answer. Her mother didn't sleep enough as it was. Not to mention she was a bit terrified about how that conversation was going to go down. "Can I get up?"

"If you feel you want to. We can take a walk up and back down the corridor if you like." There was something in the way she said the words that didn't make sense until the nurse had helped her to the toilet and back. Before her door could be opened ahead of her, Letty recognised the leather jacket on the floor outside. "He hasn't left." The nurse whispered softly, pushing the door open to reveal the man outside. "Despite being thrown out by security every half hour." Dom was slouched next to a plant pot, jacket over his legs, chin to chest as he slept. "And then your mother every time she saw him."

"Dom." Letty's voice barely made a sound. He was wearing what he went out in, smelled like the spilled beers that was marking his white t-shirt, cradling his mobile phone like it was a direct line to life.

"Com'on dear, let's just start with one foot in front of the other."

"He's been here since I was brought in?" Letty asked as they stepped further from him. Every step was a lance of pain shooting up her spine. Not the mention her neck was aching something mad, reluctant to turn even the slightest inch from neutral.

"He must love you something terrible." The nurse offered, keeping an assisting hand close by Letty with every slow step. "Even with your mother screaming murder at him. And I've been witness to your mother when she gets an incompetent intern, she doesn't mince words." Not at work, no; her mother could take charge of a hospital wing without batting an eyelid, being who she needed to be, cruel or caring. Family was a little more difficult and it seemed her mother had lapsed back to work mode for Dom's presence. Dealing with it how she knew best, where she knew best.

The pain was flaring up her back but she knew enough that saying as such wouldn't get her home. As was her new goal.

She stumbled on her feet under her own weight and caught herself on the hand rail, supported by the nurse. A weight touched against her chest and Letty paused, a hand flying to her body, concern raising again, was something else broken?!

Her fingers landed on something metal, pressing through gown and resting on her skin. She explored its shape before fishing it out from the chain around her neck.

A cross hung.

Not just any cross.

A silver cross belonging to a Toretto that was sat outside her hospital room.

"Can I go home?" Letty instantly asked the nurse. "I feel fine." The lie came out as easily as all the others before. The nurse rose a sceptical eyebrow but answered all the same.

"Doctor will be around in the morning rounds. Your mother has already bartered to play nursemaid, so as long as everything is fine, there's a good chance you'll be out by dinner."

* * *

School had started up again and it was the first Friday race escape since. Mr T had insisted Letty's arm heal up properly before she return to the shop. It also gave Ella the time to find a new job, not that she would have been held to her notice. Mr T knew the full story. Which was more than Letty's mother did. As far as she knew, a dog had ran out in front of her daughter. Her sober daughter; because her mother had demanded and authorised blood alcohol tests whilst she was unconscious in the hospital. Thank god she didn't drink too much or she'd never see car keys ever again.

"Stop it." Mia chastised, nudging Letty with a hard elbow. "You're thinking about it again."

"I'm fine." Letty bit out. But she was indeed thinking about that night.

"You're not." Mia huffed.

"Mi, leave off." Alex regained control of his girl's temper.

With Mr T's strict rules and blessing, he had condoned the dating of his daughter. Dom was a little less enthused and kept glaring daggers.

Even across the streets of the Friday night races.

Which was new territory for Alex, but his insistence had been strong enough to step foot in the new world, to stand side by side as Mia's guard dog.

Letty rolled her eyes at the way Mia sank back into Alex's hug, dropping her challenge to Letty.

She wasn't wrong, things had changed since the accident.

The cast was still on her arm, still wearing Mia's lipstick print, still tattooed from the boys.

The garage was finished and there was a new hire there, another one due to start to replace Ella the next week.

Things were moving in a positive direction.

Even Vince and Tessa were officially together. Not in any cutesy lovey-dovey way, more of an argument, fight, hate each other and then fuck it better kind of way. But it worked. They were both happy.

Mia had personally seen to it that Laura and Jesse kept seeing each other. She'd somehow got Laura's number and coached her through Jesse language to enrich their communication of feelings. It was all great.

Except for Letty and Dom.

The day after the accident, she was on the downstairs sofa listening to Dom verbally spar with her mother for a few moments with her daughter.

Her mother was insistent regardless of situations, the accident _must_ be Dom's fault entirely. It came with a conspiracy theory, dark glares and grandiose mistrust.

It allowed them two minutes alone to talk, and two minutes set with the kitchen timer ticking in the doorway.

" _Take it." Letty insisted, shoving the cross against Dom's hand. He physically stepped back from it._

" _Letty..." he didn't accept it when she thrust it his way again._

" _Just, take it." The pain and tiredness was making her cranky._

" _I gave it t-"_

" _It doesn't help every time my mother sees it, okay. So take it back." Letty threw it and Dom caught it against his chest, looking every bit like a kicked puppy. Letty rubbed the bridge of her nose, she was too tired to deal with this and the pain killers weren't helping._

" _What happened with Ella, I di-"_

" _I know." Letty began. "_ _ **She**_ _kissed you, you didn't do anything wrong. I know."_

" _I didn't kn-"_

" _Time!" Her mother announced from the kitchen, way before the kitchen timer could buzz._

" _We still hav-" Dom began to protest about said timer, but Letty just watched her mother turn the timer forward and the bell rang out._

" _Time's up. She needs to sleep."_

 _Dom wrapped his fingers tighter around the cross and with a nod, he left._

His grip was on that cross at the moment, across the street, he was leant against Hector's car, discussing wagers most probably, and he fiddled with it, stroking a thumb across the length.

And the girls were flocking again, closing in as he signed himself up for another race.

Between Dom finishing the garage and her mother's strict health observations, Letty hadn't so much as had a date with the man.

There had been texts, plenty of them.

Most where he asked repeatedly what he could do to fix things, why things couldn't go back to how they were and most commonly: 'what's wrong?'. He was insistent she wasn't the same; that her feelings had changed. He wanted to know how, and how to change them back.

"Be back later." Letty spoke, leaving the judgemental love birds to their car education lesson and taking her oldest jeans and comfiest hoodie across to the Civic she knew well, one-handedly sliding herself onto the hood.

It was warm from winning the first round of races, prepared for the last.

Dom was pulling in the money tonight. Lord knew what he was saving for.

One of the racer chasers was approaching Dom's car, shimmying her skirt to suit her hip flare better, making it pretty obvious she wasn't against showing off her thong to anyone who asked and re-aligning her breasts in the push-up bra.

"I wouldn't bother." Letty spoke as she came closer, big blue eyes hunting out Dom. "If I were you. You're wasting your time."

"Excuse me, what do you know?" she sneered.

"Considering I'm best friends with his sister, I'd guess I'm kind of an expert on Dom's tastes."

"And?" she asked, leaning in.

"It's not gunna work." Letty shook her head slowly, pausing as if to reconsider. "He's gone out of his blonde phase, and… he'll be able to tell those are fake." She nodded to her chest. "Your manicure is chipped and your lipstick is too pale to draw his attention. He likes girls like that." Letty pointed to the woman that was as close to the physical opposite of the woman stood before her.

Little did this one know Letty had had this exact conversation spun 180 with the woman she pointed to only 20 minutes ago.

"Oh." Letty watched the enthusiasm drain out of her recent target.

"But." Letty was never going to get the recognition she deserved, but she was Leon's best wingman for the line she used after these 'chats'. "See that guy." She pointed at Leon. "I swear, you are absolutely _everything_ he said he wanted in a woman. I mean it's scary how close to dream girl you are."

"Really?"

And like that, Letty rolled her eyes at her retreating back as she made her way over to Leon to lay it on thick.

"Keeping my ride warm?" Dom's deep tones curled around her and she met his eyes. "She give you any trouble?"

"Who?" playing dumb, Letty accepted his hand off his hood.

"Playing nice, Letty?"

"She was asking about Leon." Letty smudged the truth, but Dom couldn't find fault as he watched the woman obviously flirting with his mechanic brother.

"You alright?" Stood toe to toe, he looked down her, examining every inch.

"Fine." She felt a lot better hitting the girl home-run out of the Dom-park, but things were still unsteady. Looking into his deep eyes didn't help. Not with the way he held her gaze like he could see straight into her heart. "I'm fine."

"You're not. Just tell me how I can fix it."

"You racing?" Letty noted the keys poised in his grip, ready for action.

"Yeah." But he caught her as she made to leave. "Ride with me?"

"Seriously?" Her smile lifted at the idea. Dom had never taken someone with him on these races, always said it was too dangerous.

"Yeah, ain't no real competition in this lot."

"Sure." She wasn't passing on this. No matter how she felt, this was riding side by side with glory, the buzz and adrenaline that was incomparable.

"Easy money." Dom grinned, striding easily around to take the driver's seat as she settled into shotgun. "It's yours… if we win." he offered.

"Yeah right." she scoffed, "Not like I'm doing anything."

"Letty." There was a calculating grin on his face as he started the ignition. "If we make it over the finish line in first, the pot's all yours. I swear it." He trawled the machine through the crowds and up to the start line. "You thought about your next car?"

"Got a few in mind." Letty answered mindlessly, eyes on the way Hector was blazing a giant smile at Dom and pointing one of his fangirls to get in place for a countdown. "What's with Hector?"

"Thinks he's smarter than everyone." Dom chuckled, rolling his shoulders and rubbing the silver cross hanging on his chest again. "Ready?"

"Yeah." Letty grabbed the harness with her good hand.

"Good, because I'm not leaving this start line until you tell me what's wrong."

"What?!" Letty flipped her head to him.

"I'm serious." And he appeared just that.

Letty felt a panic rise in her, the girl was already starting a count down. Dom was kidding, right?

"Dom, what are you doing?" she shoved a hand out at him.

"Is this about the kiss?"

"No. Oh my god, Dom, you can't be serious."

Letty watched the girl drop her arms, race started and other cars screeching to pounce straight to first place. "Jesus Dom, what the hell?"

"So what did I do?"

"Oh my god, Dom, drive." Picture of ease, he didn't even move an inch and the other cars were claiming a hell of a lot of distance, more with each second.

"What di-"

"You didn't. It was because you didn't do anything, okay. It's not what you did." Letty rushed out the words, was Dom losing a race for this?!

"What didn't I do?"

"Kiss her. You didn't kiss her back." Letty sped out and finally, Dom put his foot down and left the worrying crowds that were gathering around his car.

Letty finally took a breath as Dom started closing the gap between him and the other vehicles.

He came in pace with the last of the pack and then held it, not advancing as the machine should. Foot coming off the accelerator.

"And?" he asked, eyes meeting hers.

She clicked onto the game. She had to earn her win. Earn the prize money with his questions. Like it was all just a game.

Letty struck a punch out at his arm with her good hand.

"Seriously, you'll throw this race if I don't answer?"

"I'll stop the car right here." he offered.

"No." she bit out. "Fine." she agreed. "You didn't kiss her, and I thought you would, and it was… good, that you didn't."

Letty heard the gas depress as she spoke to the wing mirror and watched last place swap.

"Why the cold shoulder?" he probed.

"It's not cold shoulder. Its… look, okay, I didn't know if you were serious, and I guess it just kind of clicked that you were when you didn't kiss her."

"I told you I love you, Letty." Another car went into the rearview mirror.

"I know… I just… didn't know what that meant fully, until…"

"Explain this then." He moved his fingers between them, in the tension they held.

"I-"

"Finish line's getting closer, Let." And he was two car lengths behind the leader. And staying there with a purposeful nod to her.

The cars were eating up the distance, faster and faster. People were coming back into sight around their cars, around the finish line.

"Jesus Christ, I just didn't know how to say it back, alright." Letty spat out. Secret spilled, Letty felt 5 stone lighter. Her lips tingled from the words.

She searched what half of his face she could see for any reaction. There was a smile, a grin, a crooked victory painted across his face, one that tickled up into his eyes, lighting up his features.

Neck and neck with first place, he turned to her.

"Say it." he dared her.

"Fuck off." The noise of the engine lessened and she knew his foot was coming off the gas again, losing distance to the other driver. Purposeful. "Damn it, Dom." she raked her hand through her hair, the other cradled to her chest in its pot. "I love you, alright."

Letty could feel her heart pounding in her chest, thudding against her, pulse hammering in her skin, making her dizzy.

And then came the cheers, the loud slaps on the car as spectators came to greet the winner.

Winner?

Letty spun around to see their competition slamming his hands on the wheel in frustration.

Dom won.

A hand came to her head and she was locked in to the driver beside her, lips searching for her.

Letty froze, they were in public, surrounded by hundreds of people, and he was kissing her.

Fuck. He was kissing her.

And it wasn't a friendly kiss.

He melted her bones, pulled her as close as the belts would allow, dominating her mouth, tongue stroking with hers.

Damn, he was a God.

"Love you too." he whispered against her.


End file.
